Word: giulianis
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...appeared at a convenient moment for the Giuliani campaign. For the first time since the former New York mayor entered the G.O.P. race in early February, his status as his party's front-runner in national polls had begun to slip. The logic against a Giuliani victory - that he's too out of step with the Republican rank and file on social issues to win the nomination - seemed to be taking hold just as Fred Thompson officially entered the race. Giuliani needed to change the dynamic of the campaign, to get G.O.P. primary voters to focus on his general electability...
MoveOn gave Giuliani precisely the distraction he was looking for. Other Republicans railed against the organization's ad, but Giuliani went further. He linked it to Hillary Clinton, calling her criticism of Gen. Petraeus' Senate testimony "political venom" and chastising her for refusing to condemn MoveOn. Then the Giuliani campaign bought its own full-page ad in the Times, praising Petraeus and lacerating MoveOn and Clinton. "Who should America listen to," the ad asked, "a decorated soldier's commitment to defending America, or Hillary Clinton's commitment to defending MoveOn.org...
Just like that, the campaign story of the week was Rudy vs. Hillary. Coverage of the rest of the G.O.P. field faded away as the media chronicled Giuliani's attacks on Hillary, MoveOn and liberals in general. "I have to hand it to the Giuliani people; that was a brilliant move," says a Democratic strategist with ties to the Clinton campaign...
...Giuliani aides and advisers readily concede that the attacks have been designed to stir Republican voters out of their depression and torpor. "About the only thing Republicans agree on right now is Hillary," says one adviser. "They're terrified she might be President, so they love it when they see someone going after her." Asked whether Giuliani was attacking Clinton and MoveOn because he'd rather be talking about the enemy than explaining his record on social issues, an aide concedes, "That goes without saying...
...spat does no obvious harm to Senator Clinton either, and for similar reasons. By highlighting her critique of the Petraeus testimony, Giuliani has helped Clinton with the segment of the Democratic electorate that is most suspicious of her because of her 2002 vote authorizing force in Iraq (and because of her refusal to call that vote a mistake). For good measure, on Thursday Clinton voted "no" on a bill introduced by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas condemning the original MoveOn ad. The bill passed...