Rudy's Bad Day

This article is painful to read. I wish I could have seen Giuliani's face as he responded to damaging question after damaging question.

Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani, whose tough talk on terrorism is the centerpiece of his campaign, said Wednesday that it was a mistake to join a bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which he later quit.

"I thought it would work, but then after a month or two I realized the idea that I was possibly going to run for president would be inconsistent with that," he said [...]

Giuliani also talked about current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced he left the Republican Party, fueling speculation he could run for president as an independent.

"I like Mike very much," Giuliani said. "I am disappointed that he left the Republican Party. I still respect what he has done as mayor." [...]

Giuliani was in Iowa, delivering a speech about fiscal conservatism, but was forced to address problems with his campaign.

South Carolina State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel was removed as chairman of Giuliani's campaign in that state after he was indicted on cocaine charges.

"Any federal indictment is a very serious case," Giuliani said. "I don't know anything about it. There's no light I can shed on it. He stepped down as having anything to do with the campaign."

At what point did he take a swing at a staffer after that news conference?

We're 18 months out. Rudy will not be able to handle this kind of questioning without flipping. Please, please, PLEASE, Republicans, nominate this guy. I want to see the headline "PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HANGS JOURNALIST FROM A HOTEL WINDOW."

Team Giuliani

The state treasurer of South Carolina, a Republican, has a side gig.

South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, a former real estate developer who became a rising political star after his election last year, was indicted Tuesday on federal cocaine charges.

The millionaire is accused of buying less than 500 grams of the drug to share with other people in late 2005, U.S. Attorney Reggie Lloyd said. Ravenel, 44, is charged with distribution of cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

(OK, maybe he doesn't make a LIVING selling coke, but that's the charge, so I'm running with it.)

And remember, the Bush Administration wants those mandatory minimum sentencing laws, so he'll be serving time.

The very last line of the story is this oh-by-the-way nugget:

Thomas Ravenel is also the state chairman for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

So Giuliani has one former business partner who's about to be indicted for wiretap fraud and tax evasion, and now a state chair who's a coke dealer. Good judgment. Are Jimmy Conway and Paul Cicero and Tommy DeVito senior staffers as well?