Rudy gets a smackdown

Obama campaign spokesman slams him for invoking Ayers.

Published October 7, 2008 6:29PM (EDT)

As if sarcastic Sarah Palin were not enough, here comes Rudy Giuliani piling on with the William Ayers, Obama-pals-with-terrorists theme. My word.

But -- oh, snap! -- check out Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs’ response:

[Gibbs] noted that Guiliani has been the main advocate for Bernard Kerik, New York's former police commissioner, to be named head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. President Bush made the nomination, only to quickly withdrew it when a morass of legal and personal problems surrounding Kerik surfaced (he currently is under federal indictment for conspiracy, mail fraud and several other charges). As a result, Gibbs said, "taking judgment advice" from Guiliani "is a little bit like being called ugly by a frog."

Time’s Mark Halperin has the exchange here.

If there is an upside to all of this junk, it is this: Presuming Barack Obama wins, by 2012 all of these Republicans are going to be so discredited -- Palin, Giuliani, Mormon Mitt -- that the GOP, already suffering from a thin bench, may end up nominating somebody like Mike Huckabee.


By Thomas Schaller

Thomas F. Schaller is professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the author of "Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South." Follow him @schaller67.

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