Rudy Giuliani probably deserves credit for his shameless cynicism. Most presidential hopefuls would probably have the sense to stay away from nonsense like this, but not the former NYC mayor.
Rudy Giuliani has responded to MoveOn’s ad against General Petraeus with a full-page New York Times ad of his own — using his own ad to not only attack MoveOn but also to blast Hillary Clinton for criticizing Petraeus’ analysis during this week’s committee hearings.
The ad promotes “the Petraeus record,” detailing the general’s medals and other awards. “Who should America listen to,” the ad asks, “A decorated soldier’s commitment to defending America, or Hillary Clinton’s commitment to defending MoveOn.org?”
You can take a closer look at the ad here, but there are a couple of things that jump out at me.
First, Giuliani incorporates MoveOn’s ad into his own, which, in effect means that the GOP presidential candidate is paying to feature the criticism of Petraeus twice. Second, connecting Hillary to MoveOn is kind of silly — not only did Clinton not endorse MoveOn’s ad, but MoveOn doesn’t even support Clinton’s Iraq policy.
And third, I was struck by Giuliani’s “substantive” argument (I use the word loosely). His ad asks, “Who should America listen to?” after noting that Gen. David Petraeus has won the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star. In other words, if you have earned military medals, you deserve respect and have worked hard to gain credibility.
I’m curious, though, why the right actually disagrees with Giuliani’s argument.
After all, John Kerry earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts, and was smeared as a traitor by the right-wing attack machine. Chuck Hagel earned the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Purple Heart, and the Army Commendation Medal, but Freepers labeled him “General Betray Us.” Jack Murtha earned the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, but that hasn’t stopped conservatives from labeling him a terrorist sympathizer.
Giuliani wonders, “Who should America listen to?” Petraeus has earned some impressive medals, but if that were enough, shouldn’t America listen to Kerry, Hagel, and Murtha? And shouldn’t the right stop smearing them?
As for the Giuliani ad and the New York Times, the former mayor boasted on Fox News that he will receive the same “discounted” rate the paper gave MoveOn. The NYT did its best to put the nonsense to rest about the grand conspiracy cooked up by far-right paranoia.
Catherine J. Mathis, a spokeswoman for The New York Times Company, said the advertising department does not base its rates on political content. She also said the department does not disclose the rates it charges for individual advertisements. But she did say that “similar types of ads are priced in the same way.” She said the department charges advocacy groups $64,575 for full-page, black-and-white advertisements that run on a “standby” basis, meaning an advertiser can request a specific day and placement but is not guaranteed them. […]
Ms. Mathis said the content of an advertisement is not reviewed before a price is quoted.
As for advance word of when a standby ad is running, she said: “Someone might say, ‘I’d like the standby rate, I’d like it to run tomorrow,’ and we say, ‘We can’t guarantee that,’ but then if we find out it is running, we let them know. If we have room, we try to accommodate them.”
There is no conspiracy. The Times did not extend MoveOn a discount because they all hate America. The right has been wrong about this all week.
But that didn’t stop some unhinged activist from filing an FEC complaint against the NYT yesterday, alleging, well, something nefarious.
These folks really aren’t well.
Update: The Clinton campaign responds to Giuliani’s ad: “It’s hardly surprising that Mayor Giuliani is running the first negative ad of the 08 campaign given his inability to justify his unqualified support for President Bush’s failed Iraq strategy. Senator Clinton respects Gen Petraeus’ service to our country. She knows the best way to honor our soldiers is to end the war in Iraq and bring them home.”