Captain Ed interviewed Bill Simon, director of policy for the Rudy Giuliani campaign. The captain informs us:
I asked him what he learned about Rudy in the time the two worked together, and he said that he found teamwork, leadership, and accountability. Simon found Rudy to be a loyal but tough leader in the civil and criminal casework that his office handled.
Given the conservative skepticism towards Rudy, I asked Simon what he felt might make conservatives most comfortable with Giuliani. He spoke about Rudy's commitment to fiscal discipline and focus on freedom. In the years that Giuliani ran New York City, crime went down and people began to feel as though the Big Apple could be a livable city. Social issues will come in second to security and leadership, Simon believes.
I asked Simon about the recent issue with judges. The Politico posted an article on Rudy's track record on judicial nominations, and reported that Giuliani appointed more Democrats than Republicans to the bench as Mayor. However, Simon called this misleading. The mayor does not have a free hand in judicial appointments in New York City. An independent panel gives the mayor a choice of three candidates for each open seat, and the mayor has to select from those three. Rudy did not choose the candidates; he had to select one of three locked-in choices.
Not much, yet certainly sheds light on the controversial judge appointments issue. More to come in the future. Perhaps I'm catching a fever here. Politics begets a kind of "car like" delirium. A spirit haunts a person and induces knee jerk reactions. Simply put, I kind of like the guy a little better today than yesterday. We have many miles to travel, however. In the mean time, someone ought to get Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee front and center quickly. He looks like a conservative, he talks like a conservative, and by golly he governs like a conservative. His previous life as a Southern Baptist minister taints him a bit, not character wise, but with perceptions. American voters, even conservatives, shy away from too much God talk. I like his God talk and his view of faith. It fits American seminal philosophy. Tim Russert interviewed him on Meet the Press in January. Russert interrogates Huckabee fairly thoroughly on major issues including his thoughts about President Bush's
Iraq policies. The inquisition provides a good first impression of the former Arkansas governor. Watch the interview here and here.
UPDATE ON HUCKABEE
The Captain interviewed Mike Huckabee tonight on his blog. Listen here.
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