When I Became a Giuliani Man

Due to the strangely fawning reporting on Romney I see on Utah broadcast journalism, I feel it is my civic duty to stand amidst the incessant banner-waving by posting an excerpt from the Larry King Live interview in which I fell for Giuliani, who has my vote for the Republican candidacy until someone can convince me otherwise. I think a strong leadership style comes across in the interview (though less-so in the transcript, I'll concede). From the blame game to abortion to gay marriage, I've included some of the comments I found most interesting:


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Deciding to Run

KING: So you're running?

GIULIANI: Yes, I'm running.

KING: Final -- what led to the decision?

GIULIANI: I think I can make a difference. I believe that the country needs leadership. I think that we're going through a war on terror -- or a terrorist war against us, which maybe is a better way to describe it. We've got lots of problems that we have to tackle and resolve. We need fiscal discipline. We need better education. We need energy independence. There's so many things that we haven't sort of tackled.

I mean one of the things I do is...

KING: Tackle things.

GIULIANI: Tackle things, yes. Lead. Try to get things done. Try to improve...

KING: It takes a lot of chutzpah, though, doesn't it, to say...

GIULIANI: Yes.

KING: ... I'm the best? That's what you're saying.

GIULIANI: Yes, it does. And very humbling. And it takes a long time to come to a conclusion that with all your imperfections and all the things, you know, that we all are, none of us -- none of us do everything well and none of us are perfect. You have to say to yourself is this something that I can do?

And for a kid from Brooklyn, sometimes you wake up in the morning and say gee...

KING: Is this really --

GIULIANI: ... is this really happening?

And then sometimes you wake up and say I can do this.
My Thoughts: This was the beginning of the seduction. The frank approachability and the lack of pomp was remarkable. He was simply a man who felt he was positioned and skilled enough to make a difference, and I believed him. I may just be an impressionable sap, but I believed him.


The War in Iraq

KING: Let's get to some issues.

A leading industrialist, a friend of mine, said if the United States were a corporation, based on the Iraq War, everyone at the top would be fired.

How would you comment on that? And that -- in other words meaning it ain't going right.

GIULIANI: Yes, but that would have been true -- he would have said the same thing about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln would have been fired. And he might have said the same thing at the Battle of the Bulge and Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Marshall -- all would have been fired. And...

KING: So you're confident this is all going to turn around?

GIULIANI: Oh, no. No.

KING: Because those -- they turned around.

GIULIANI: No, no. I'm not confident it's all going to turn around.

Who knows that?

I mean, you never know that in the middle of a war. I'm confident that we have to try to make a turnaround, and we just can't walk out and that it is critical to us that things get to the point in Iraq that we have some degree of stability and not the way they are now. Because if we leave it the way it is now and we run out, then we're going to face further difficulties in the future. Then we're going to lose more lives in the future.

[…]

I would -- I would have us not disband the army. You wouldn't de-Baathify. See, de-Baathify sounds like the right thing to do because you're getting rid of all the old Saddam guys. But that meant getting rid of the entire civil service. The country had no infrastructure.
My Thoughts: I love the perspective he brings to the issue by adding a historical context and not being afraid to be a balanced voice, basically say, "Listen, I can't look into a crystal ball and predict the outcome of the war, but I can certainly analyze what's going on and figure out how to best approach the situation as it is rather than running from it and leaving a mess."


The Blame Game

KING: So are you -- are you -- who do you blame?

GIULIANI: So you learn from these things.

KING: Do you blame Rumsfeld?

GIULIANI: No, I don't blame anybody.

KING: You don't blame any -- somebody's got to...

GIULIANI: No, no, no. You don't do it that way.

KING: Nobody's to blame?

GIULIANI: You don't do it that way. That's why you don't make progress. Just like I don't blame people for not figuring out September 11 before it happened. What I do is, I kind of look at what happened, so you learn for the future.

KING: But there were mistakes.

GIULIANI: Of course there were mistakes. Lincoln made mistakes. Roosevelt made mistakes. Eisenhower made mistakes. The Battle of the Bulge was the biggest intelligence failure in American military history, much bigger than any in Vietnam or now. We didn't know that the Soviets were moving 400,000 or 500,000 troops. We missed it.

KING: Shouldn't they be blamed for not explaining it well enough?

GIULIANI: Learn from it. Learn from it. Don't blame them.

[…]

GIULIANI: Just as the mistakes I made when I was mayor, I tried to learn from them. If I get to be president of the United States, I probably won't make the same mistakes, because I will have learned from them. I'll probably make different ones.

[…]

KING: The House is apparently about to vote -- and will vote, apparently -- to say that this 20,000 troops is a mistake.

Now, an important question, do you hold those who vote for that as helping the enemy?

GIULIANI: No, I hold them as...

KING: Because some say that.

GIULIANI: OK. There's a...

KING: You don't?

GIULIANI: I mean, there's -- you can look at the practical and common sense conclusion of it anyway you want. But there's something more important than that.

We have a right of free speech in this country and we elect people to make decisions.
My Thoughts: THANK YOU! Someone who is willing to stop playing the juvenile finger-pointing game thinking he'll save face by making someone else look bad. In elementary school, we call that bullying. He is the first I heard stand up and say, "Listen, blame or no blame, that's not the important question. The question is what we'll do with what we have and what we can learn from the past." Seems like kind of a "duh" thing, but how many candidates are willing to step away from political jousting long enough to give some real perspective? I loved this.


Decisiveness

Here's what I would prefer to see them do, though, if you ask me what's my view on that. The non-binding resolution thing gets me more than are you for it or against it. I have tremendous respect for the people who feel that we either made a mistake going to war, who voted against the war, who now have come to the conclusion, changed their minds -- they have every right to that -- that it's wrong. You should, in a dynamic situation, keep questioning.

What I don't like is the idea of a non-binding resolution.

KING: Because?

GIULIANI: Because there's no decision.

KING: But it's a -- making a -- it's a statement.

GIULIANI: Yes, but that's what you do. That's what Tim Russert does. That's what Rush Limbaugh does. That's what you guys do, you make comments. We pay them to make decisions, not just to make comments. We pay them to decide. The United States Congress does declarations, the war, that's the...

KING: So are you telling them if you feel that way, withhold funds, if that's the way you feel?

GIULIANI: Well, the ones I -- the ones that I think have a better understanding of what their responsibility is and are willing to take a risk are the ones who are saying we've got to hold back the funds, we've got to vote against the war or we're for the war.

KING: So...

GIULIANI: And maybe it's because I, you know, I ran a government and I tend to be a decisive person. I like decisions. And I think one of the things wrong with Washington is they don't want to make tough decisions anymore.

KING: You know, if you're...

GIULIANI: Non-binding resolution about Iraq; no decision on immigration; no decision on Social Security reform; no decision on what to do about energy independence; no decision. No decision.

You know why that happens?

Because it's unpopular.
[…]
My Thoughts: I really loved how he brought us back to remembering what the government's role really is, not getting roped into bickering over whether this or that was "good" or "bad" but seeing the big picture enough to step back and say, "Hey, that's not even what they're hired to do--who cares what congress 'asserts' if they're not even enacting anything concrete?"


Abortion

GIULIANI: I am pro-choice, yes. But I -- I'm also, as you know -- always have been -- against abortion, hate abortion, don't like it, wouldn't personally advise anyone to have an abortion and -- but I believe a woman has a right to choose. And you can't have criminal penalties and I think that would be wrong.

I would select judges who try to interpret the Constitution rather than invent it, from my views as a lawyer. And I don't want to sound presumptuous, I'm not a constitutional lawyer, but I have argued in the Supreme Court and I have argued in many of the circuit courts.

I've spent more time in court than I have in politics.

And I just think it's very, very important that a judge have a judicial philosophy that says I am going to try to figure out what the framers of the Constitution meant when they wrote this or what the people who amended it meant when they put it in, not what I'd like it to mean, not what I feel it means.
[…]
My Thoughts: I love that he is not afraid to make people wrap their minds around the fact that he can, indeed, be personally opposed to something in principle and still uphold people's right to choose by disallowing government interference even when he would just as soon see a practice stop. I, personally, think the law should be defined much like the church's stance on abortion, that it be a careful decision made in extreme circumstances but wholly proscribed as a simple way of escaping consequences of choices. So I would say I'm semi-pro-choice and don't see the subject as a "woman's right to choose" as much as a "baby's right to live," but I still respect Giuliani's commitment to principle enough that I would respect him in the office.


Gay Rights

KING: You're pro -- basically, the gay movement, right, that gays have equal rights to heteros, that they be treated the same way in society…in hospitals... insurance benefits and all of that?

GIULIANI: Gays should be protected. I signed The Domestic Partnership Law in New York. But the way I'm portrayed by my opponents -- and I guess to drive people away from me -- is that I'm in favor of gay marriage. I am not. I did 220 weddings. They were all between a man and a woman. I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. At least, I hope they were all between a man and a woman. It looked that way at the time.

But, yes, I believe that marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman and that the way to handle this, and the way to handle respect and everything else is to have something like domestic partnership, which I support.
My Thoughts: His position here is not much different from Romney's, but again what I loved about this response compared with everyone else's is that he didn't fall into defending his belief in marriage. He simply stated it, then focused on a need for human respect and opportunity to choose within certain bounds and made it clear that whether or not he agrees, he will respect. Other candidates give token expressions about tolerance, but they then go right back to rhetoric that will ensure that their right-wing constituency couldn't possibly construe their tolerance as overlooking sin. I just don't feel the simple, human respect come across as deeply and as genuinely as it did from Giuliani. He's not LDS and isn't as good-looking as his currently front-running competitor, so call me kooky, but I like the guy, and if the vote were today, he'd have my vote.

Repugnican or Democrap

Great, looks like one more thing in life that's unclear. Gosh. :-)

You Are 24% Republican

You're a bit Republican, and probably more conservative than you realize.
If you're still voting Democrat, maybe it's time that you stop.

How Republican Are You?




You Are 24% Democrat

You're a bit Democrat, and probably more liberal than you realize.
If you're still voting Republican, maybe it's time that you stop.

How Democrat Are You?

Look How Boyish I Am

Heh heh, where's Nicole when I'm taking tests of masculinity? Ah, good times.

You Are 70% Boyish and 30% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Type of Intelligence

Hm...interesting. I wonder which one is more true. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter. :-)


First time through:

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others.

Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel.
You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations.
A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict.

You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.
What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?




Second time through, changing a couple of answers I was wishy washy on:

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things.
Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments.
You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it.
You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle.

You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.
What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Silly Survey

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
(filled out on MySpace in February 2007)

Name: Bien Guapito
Birthday: So personal so soon?! Homey don't play that.
Birthplace: ID
Current Location: Massmarketcrapville, UT

Eye Color: Deep, engaging brown...
Hair Color: Luscious brown...now with a hint of grey!
Height: 5'8"

Right Handed or Left Handed: I'm a total southpaw baby! Except golfing...and batting.

Your Heritage: Oh, bad sinuses, greasy skin, a stubborn disposition...

The Shoes You Wore Today: Sexy, red, 3-inch pumps

Your Weakness: Catherine Zeta Jones...at least...I imagine...

Your Fears: Hmm...toughy...OK, I'll admit to being mildly frightened by female wrestlers... *shudder*

Your Perfect Pizza: One that tastes like a really good persian chicken dish and looks like...Catherine Zeta Jones...er...

Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Meet Catherine Zeta Jones.

Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: Catherine Zeta Jones

Thoughts First Waking Up: HRmph...mmmrrrrrr...no....whrsss thlarrrmmmmmmm... (something along those lines)

Your Best Physical Feature: My booty...yeah, junk in the trunk! ...but some say it's my smile. Aaawwwww.

Your Bedtime: My what?

Your Most Missed Memory: That carefree, lighthearted, sunny, beaming feeling as a kid on a beautiful summer day. ...hey, stop laughing! This one's serious. I miss that!

Pepsi or Coke: Blechhh...neither...gimme Henry Weinhart's Root Beer or no soda at all

MacDonalds or Burger King: What is it with these choices? Didn't you see my "White Trash" blog?

Single or Group Dates: Oh, please...no dates...not right now...

Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Again with the stupid choices...
Chocolate or Vanilla: Nothing personal against vanilla, but I have a lusty relationship with chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee: Oh...just give me a nice steamer...

Do you Smoke: I don't think so. But maybe if I worked out harder...
Do you Swear: Swear what? Such daft questions...
Do you Sing: All the time...except in the shower.
Do you Shower Daily: Sometimes twice. Wow. I'm clean.

Have you Been in Love: I don't know if I've allowed myself that luxury. Does Catherine Zeta Jones count?

Do you want to go to College: Yeah...even after 5 years there already. Nutty, eh?
Do you want to get Married: Eh...due to the nature of these sites, I'm not even touching this one. Although I will say that if that ol' sleazo Mr. Douglas ever loses favor in your sight, you know who to call, Cat. I'll be waiting.

Do you belive in yourself: Yup...just pinched my upper thigh. I seem to be here.

Do you get Motion Sickness: Not yet.

Do you think you are Attractive: I have, on occasion, been rather attracted to myself. Gosh, now I'm blushing.

Are you a Health Freak: You mean do I forbear deodorant, braid my armpit hair, that sort of thing? No. Do I work out multiple times a week? Yes. Eat well? I try.

Do you get along with your Parents: Yup.

Do you like Thunderstorms: Love them. I really like it when the power goes out. Good creative bonding time...no, not THAT creative...sicko.

Do you play an Instrument: Piano.

In the past month have you Drunk Alcohol: The past month? Heh, silly question. Past 27 years? Hm...does a smoothie with vanilla extract count?
In the past month have you Smoked: Again with the silliness. Do fireworks punks count?
In the past month have you been on Drugs: Oh man, have I ever. Ibuprofen, pseudoephedrine, antihistamines, you name it.

In the past month have you gone on a Date: No, I always go in the bathroom.

In the past month have you gone to a Mall: Oh boy have I ever. Impulse sweater purchases at BR's clearance rack...yeah, I have a problem.

In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: Ew, no.

In the past month have you eaten Sushi: No, thank-you for reminding me to consume my monthly sushi.

In the past month have you been on Stage: I'm not sure my "stage presence" would be so enthralling...no, I have not.

In the past month have you been Dumped: That would require having a relationship.

In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: Past month? Um...I've been dipping, and I'm pretty darn skinny, but no, not so much the skinny dipping...

In the past month have you Stolen Anything: Nothing but a few hearts--the usual.

Ever been Drunk: Maybe...I just might have...but I've never really bothered to ask my friends if they spiked the punch without me knowing. I just didn't look right in the photos from that little shindig: a little bloodshot, a little sleepy-looking...hm...Closed containers only with those friends after that.

Ever been called a Tease: Funny you should ask. Just now, someone informed me the term isn't entirely inappropriate. *wicked grin*

Ever been Beaten up: Yeah, my bike got me good one time. By a person? Not at all.

Ever Shoplifted: No, but I have, on occasion, shopvac...d.

How do you want to Die: With a smile, baby, with a smile.

What do you want to be when you Grow Up: Oh please STOP ASKING ME THAT! WILL YOU ALL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!

What country would you most like to Visit: Peru. For the food, and the girls who cook it.

In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color: Depends on other features.
Favourite Hair Color: Rich, silky brown.
Short or Long Hair: Long...did I mention silky?
Height: Eh, whatever works.
Weight: Healthy.
Best Clothing Style: Don't go around wearing Abercrombie propaganda; that's all I ask. Wait, that's not true: also leave something to the imagination. Not that I go around imagining constantly...OK, shutting up.

Number of Drugs I have taken: Oh, so many. Hey, I'm sick a lot. Sue me.

Number of CDs I own: According to my media player, somewhere in the 250 range, maybe...after accounting for all the (legally) downloaded songs from albums I don't own.

Number of Piercings: Why would I do that?

Number of Tattoos: Eh...well... *sheepish grin*...ask me privately.

Number of things in my Past I Regret: Starting this survey, for one. Oh, not taking enough care when zipping up that one time in fourth grade, too. Son of a mother...

The "Hurt" Survey...aw, tender

Originally completed early 2007. Revised May 2008.

1.Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Um...I think I'll keep this answer to myself. I'd hate to alter anyone's illusions of me... *wink*

2. Are you crushin on someone?
Hm...no, I'm actually not right now. Weird. And it's even Spring! I think I'm more of a Fall guy.

3.Have you ever liked someone so much that it hurt?
In junior high, maybe, kind of...?

4.Have you ever made a boyfriend or girlfriend cry?
Yup, if that's what you could call 'em, which I really don't...no, I've never had a girlfriend, really. ...or a boyfriend, for that matter.

But if I HAD had a girlfriend, I would probably have made her cry. That's just bound to be a by-product of my sometimes painful bluntness and my emotional distance. I'm a cruel, cruel man...

5. Are you happier single or in a relationship?
Not sure it makes that big a difference, eh. I enjoy being single, and I'd like a real relationship, but I think the most abiding kind of happiness can and should be found with or without. Long answer for a silly survey.

6.Have you ever cheated on someone?
That would require having someone to cheat on. Oh, if only I had such an opportunity to be unfaithful...

7.Have you ever told someone you loved them?
Sure. But I suppose my cat didn't count. OK OK yes, I've told some people that. Oh, but in that romantic, lovey way? No, I haven't.

8.Have you ever had your heart broken?
Of course. I'm not made of steel, people!

9.Have you ever broken someone's heart?
*sigh* It's not that I TRY to...

10.Talk to any of your exes?
Again, one must have an ex before one can talk to an ex. I only have sorta-kinda exes. But yes, I talk to them, mostly. And I imagine I would talk to a "real" ex, too. ...unless the circumstances of the breakup involved gunfire and/or cooked pet bunnies or other such unpleasantries. Then I probably would not.

11.If you could go back in time and change things, would you?
With romantic relationships? Probably not. Wait, yes, maybe a bit.

12.Think any of your exes feel the same?
*shrug* My whose-its? Demi-exes? Probably.

13.Do you believe that you are a good boyfriend or girlfriend?
Duh. I mean, with the right person. Hm. Does that person exist? Applications may be mailed to...oh, who am I kidding.

14.Have you been in an abusive relationship?
Nope. I don't allow it.

15. Do you believe everyone needs a second chance?
Depends on what is meant by "second chance" or the nature of the relationship. No, not in every case.

16.Do you believe in love at first sight?
Nope. I believe in infatuation and affection at first sight. I believe in intense attraction at first sight. But not love. Love is BUILT on trust and dedication, through choices from whatever initial attraction there may be. Love at first sight...what poppycock.

17.Do you want to get married?
What? Here? Now? I barely know you.

18.Has anyone ever told you they wanted to marry you??
*nod*

19.Ever liked someone else's boyfriend or girlfriend?
Yes. All the time. Wait, are we using "liked" in the juvenile, grade school sense? Um...yes, yes I've done that too.

20.Does heartbreak really feel as bad as it sounds?
If it sounds like having a vice attached to your innards and twisted around relentlessly, then yes. Thanks for digging THAT up.

My Johari Window

How about a little get-to-know-you game? I know these are corny, but ya gotta do 'em now and then, right? A Johari window: you mark 5 or 6 words you think describe me and see how it compares to how I described myself. Could be interesting, no? :-)

http://kevan.org/johari?name=Jaycito