Last Rudy-Related Reading of the Day

It's a campaign day here at A&S. To round it out, here's an op-ed from John Fund at the Wall Street Journal on how Giuliani can try to deflect some of the many questions about his many scandals.

I note the article because of how Fund observes the basic problem facing Rudy as the campaign continues (which is no doubt related to why Giuliani has tried to keep such a low profile thus far): reporters who are "bored with policy" are going to focus on the juicy stuff. Same old story - but lots more juice than usual.

But I'm not sure I quite follow Fund's logic. He recommends that the solution for Rudy is to talk more about policy - specifically about things like tax cuts and free trade:

At his appearance before the Club for Growth, Mr. Giuliani showed an impressive command of facts and a clear understanding of how tax cuts are a vital component of economic growth. "I was impressed," Louis Woodhill, an investor from Houston, told me afterwards. But the Giuliani campaign wasn't self-confident enough to open the speech up so reporters could see for themselves how Mr. Giuliani smoothly handled questions about free trade and a federal court's recent decision upholding the Constitutional right of citizens to own guns. The faster the Giuliani campaign unwraps their man, the easier it will be for them to overcome questions about pals like Bernie Kerik and his hyperaggressive management style.

I'm all for candidates talking about policy. But I don't see how defending the Laffer Curve is going to make the scandals go away. That kind of stuff may be exciting to Wall Street Journal writers and the Club for Growth, but it's not going to do much to thrill the public at large.

Labels: 2008, economic conservatives, Presidential election, Rudy Giuliani

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 3:15 PM