Shabbat Shalom 4 Nissan 5767

Right Now, I'm for Rudy!

Since the end of last year, I have written brief commentaries on a few of the politicians who have announced their exploratory committees or candidacy for President of the United States. I have commented on the positives and negatives (mostly) of many in the current field of mediocre leaders. The one candidate you have not heard me discuss is the candidate who I am currently supporting...Rudy Giuliani.

Let's be clear. I have not been excited about a candidate for President since 1996. During that election cycle, I was a die hard Steve Forbes supporter. His campaign was one of the greatest experiences in my life. I traveled to Iowa to work for him and got the unique opportunity to be a Caucus observer. His campaign was a life changing experience for me. To simply put it, I developed great friendships, especially one in particular during the Forbes for President campaign. My personal political beliefs became finely tuned into the brilliant ideology it is today. Forbes was truly the last Republican candidate to be shaped in the same mold as Ronald Reagan. In many aspects he was better, since his positions on the issues was deeply rooted in the principles of limited government and personal freedom.

With all that shared, I may not be as devoted to any Presidential candidate as I was to Steve Forbes, but I am undoubtedly excited about the prospect of President Giuliani.

Why Rudy?

In my opinion, Giuliani has the priorities of a true conservative or classical liberal, pick your terminology. Fiscal responsibility, tax-cuts, Iraq, Israel, war against Islamic-extremism and education (school choice), Giuliani is on the right side of all these issues. No one will dispute that Giuliani can be a great leader during times of crisis. He proved that on 9/11 and that is a trait President Bush once had, but sadly has lost. America needs that back and Giuliani can provide this much needed leadership as we continue to fight World War III.

Undoubtedly Giuliani has had made questionable statements in the past, such as a nearly twenty year old comment that abortions should be publicly funded. The fact that Giuliani has stated he was wrong back in 1989 when those comments were made, shows he can admit when he makes a mistake and it is not a crime to change your mind.

His personal life, better known as his three marriages and relationship troubles he has with his son, obviously don't help his case. But truth be told, after you had a President in the Oval office who was having oral sex with an intern as well as a history of adultery that rivals the Kennedy's, those issues of personal judgement can no longer be a legitimate campaign issue.

2008 will be an interesting campaign regarding the issue of abortion. Giuliani is pro-choice and that will anger most Republicans. Agree or disagree, he deserves credit for not taking an 180 degree turn on the issue to benefit his political career. President Bill Clinton, V.P. Al Gore, Sen. Dick Durbin, Ted Kennedy and former Rep. Dick Gephardt, were all pro-life until it affected their political ambitions. The first President Bush was pro-choice, but became pro-life to become V.P for Ronald Reagan.

Giuliani has tightened his stance on the issue over the years, but has remained true to his personal beliefs. His position includes supporting parental notification as well as being against partial-birth abortion. At a recent conservative political event, political pundit Dick Morris paraphrased a pro-life Giuliani supporter. We had eight years of Reagan, four years of the first President Bush and we will have eight years of the current President. We still haven't been able to overturn Roe v. Wade. This growing consensus regarding abortion, is why Giuliani can win the GOP nomination. It doesn't hurt him that he is polling ahead of Obama and Clinton. Republicans fear of President Hillary is Giuliani's greatest asset.

This Jew is for Giuliani! But what if Newt Gingrich throws his hat into the race? HMMMM.

Kucinich Hires anti-Semite

Ohio congressman and Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D), has hired a well known anti-Semite and anti-Israel activist to work on his subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Noura Erakat recently served as the national grass-roots organizer and legal advocate for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, an anti-U.S., anti-Israel, pro-terrorist organization.

Kucinich hiring of Erakat should not surprise anyone. He has repeatedly voted against Israel in Congress and is highly regarded by many anti-Israel organizations. During last summer Israel war against Hezbollah, Kucinich was a vocal critic denouncing Israel's right to defend herself. After the war, Kucinich went to Qana, Lebanon to denounce Israel after Hezbollah claimed Israel had destroyed a civilian apartment complex that killed over 50. It was later revealed that the death toll was much less and the complex came down over eight hours after Israel had launched missiles in the area at Hezbollah weapons supplies. Even a Lebanese website published a story that Hezbollah actually blew up the building as an anti-Israel propaganda ploy. Kucinich never acknowledged this revelation and used the event to attack the Jewish state.

Paulies Point calls on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), who is a staunch supporter of Israel, to condemn Kucinich for his recent hiring.

Paulie