National Review watches last night’s debate:
Giuliani [Jonah Goldberg]
Is the smoothest at answering the question he wanted to be asked rather than the one he was asked.
10:04 PMGiuliani had an “I’m paying for this microphone” moment: By responding with fury to Ron Paul’s basically blame-America explanation for 9/11, he seized the moment. What he said wasn’t especially insightful or original, but the emotional content was pitch perfect. [Mona Charon]
Rudy Giuliani was most in tune with the audience’s desire. He criticized Democrats in general and Hillary in particular. His quick, indignant response to Ron Paul on 9/11 was the night’s soundbite that made him America’s Mayor again. [Kate O’Beirne]
Giuliani played daddy tonight and spanked Ron Paul for blaming the U.S. for 9/11. Big points for calling on Paul to withdraw his absurd statement. Message: Don’t mess with Rudy. [Kathleen Parker]
Good For Wendell Goler. And good for Rudy. Sticking it to Ron Paul on his blame America First Isolationism. [Jonah Goldberg]
Can We Vote Ron Paul Off the Island? Rudy Giuliani got mad and effectively. [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
The Paul-Rudy Exchange. Probably means Rudy won this debate. [Rich Lowry]
Feelings… nothing more than feelings. It is, of course, totally absurd for Rudy Giuliani to claim that he has “never heard” of any connection between America’s ongoing interference in the Middle East and the 9/11 attacks. It is even more absurd to pretend that America’s invasions of Lebanon and Iraq and our supplying Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt with weaponry has not rendered us a legitimate target; when is the last time Arabs attacked Estonia or Chile? It’s obviously unwise to attack the world’s greatest military power, but it’s perfectly legitimate by any of the historical standards of war.
A nation cannot occupy dozens of other nations without creating a great deal of justifiable hostility. Consider that the US government is now claiming that Iran has been committing acts of war against us by providing armaments to the Shiite and Sunni guerillas attacking our soldiers in Iraq, how then is it possible that our similar provision of armaments to various belligerents were not acts of war that justify a response from the other party involved?
It’s absolutely disgusting that the Republican media – I will no longer say conservative – should cheer the blatant lying of this dishonest man because he tells them what they want to hear. It used to be that the sole virtue of Republicans was that they wanted to drive more slowly towards the cliff, now they are stepping on the gas harder than any Democrat. War-making is not conservative, those left-wingers in the Soviet Union weren’t exactly shy about invading countries and sending their “military advisers” everywhere from Angola to Vietnam.
Empires and great nations don’t fall from without, they rot from within. Al-Qaeda can never destroy America, in fact, losing Washington, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco to terrorism would make the nation stronger, not weaker. But men like Bill Clinton, George Bush and Rudy Giuliani can destroy America and they will if the American people continue to be more preoccupied with their fears of the terrorist-bogeyman than with the fate of the nation.
I note that Giuliani didn’t stop the first 9/11. So I suggest that his opinion is the very last one that deserves to be consulted regarding how to stop the next one.
I don’t believe it matters who wins the Republican nomination, since Hillary will walk all over any of them thanks to Republican nation-building and unlimited migration. But if Americans are content to choose between two left-wing New Yorkers for the leader of their government, they will get exactly the America they deserve.