Saturday, June 09, 2007

Edwards Campaign: "Karl Rove Is Writing Rudy's Script These Days"

Greg Sargent (TPM Cafe):

Okay, this is getting interesting -- the Rudy Giuliani vs. John Edwards war is heating up today.

Rudy just appeared on a radio show and blasted Edwards over the Dem's speech on terrorism yesterday. Rudy:

"He's gonna restructure the military, which I guess means new uniforms, he's gonna rely on proven methods of intelligence gathering, which I imagine nobody else would rely on," said Giuliani on the Dennis Miller Radio Show today.

"He's gonna hold, catch this one, hold regular meetings with military leaders, I guess no president has ever done that before, I recall seeing lots of pictures of presidents holding meetings with military leaders."

You probably were aware that Rudy was being sarcastic there. Rudy also said a few other things about how Edwards' take on terror is a reflection of his "liberal mindset."

In response, the Edwards campaign continued tying Rudy to Bush:

"Sounds like Karl Rove is writing Rudy Giuliani's script these days -- all fear and no substance. If voters want four more years of George W. Bush's disastrous foreign policy, which has left us with more terrorists and fewer allies, then Giuliani is the guy. But if Americans want a smart, mission-focused approach to shutting down terrorists and keeping America safe, John Edwards is their next commander-in-chief."

The "more terrorists and fewer allies" is a good formulation, and describing Rudy as being willing to continue Bush's war seems sound enough. But the Edwards camp probably will need to respond to some of the substance of Rudy's attack in a bit more detail if this continues, rather than letting him frame the discussion about Edwards' views.

Meanwhile, worth noting: The back and forth probably benefits both candidates by boosting them with their respective primary electorates, which is probably why both sides are happy to play this game.

Howie P.S.: Matt Bai has a much less flattering view of the Edwards' campaign in this Sunday's NY Times.

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