On campaign swing, Giuliani questioned on relationship with son

[brooklynite]

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani asked for privacy Monday to deal with strained relationships within his family, and defended his wife as a "very loving and caring" mother and stepmother.

The Republican presidential candidate came to Southern California to speak with sheriffs about gang violence, but found himself answering questions about his family after his son, Andrew, publicly said their relationship had become distant after Giuliani's messy divorce from Andrew's mother, Donna Hanover, and his later marriage to Judith Nathan.

"My wife Judith is a very loving and caring ... mother and stepmother. She has done everything she can. The responsibility is mine," Giuliani told reporters gathered outside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's headquarters.

"I believe that these problems with blended families, you know, are challenges - sometimes they are," he said. "The more privacy I can have for my family, the better we are going to be able to deal with all these difficulties."

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/16838740.htm

...bearing in mind, that there wouldn't be a problem with "blended families" if he hadn't dumped his wife and kids over the side in the first place.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. What Do Blended Families Have To Do With It?

The problem is with HIM, not the blended family.

[louis-t]

2. Now it starts. His past will haunt him.

I see him dropping out some time next year.

[Yavin4]

3. All Is Fair Game In Politics Now. All Is Fair

Now that Ann Coulter has used a slur against Democrats. All is fair game now. Even families. Unless and until Republicans formally disassociate themselves from Ann Coulter, then Guiliani's family problems are in play.

I'm tired of playing nice with these assholes.

[AndyTiedye]

8. Only For The Repiglicans. Different Set of Rules for Democrats

[MADem]

4. Sorry pal--there's no crying in baseball, and no privacy in politics, especially

when you humiliate the mother of your kids on national television, with evident GLEE. All I can say is, this kid is doing a great job of 'supporting' his nitwit father in such a fashion that he's pounding a nail or two into the coffin of the jerk's Presidential aspirations. Good lad. Ms. Hanover raised you right, and revenge is a dish best served cold:

....The New York Times reported last weekend that Andrew Giuliani and his father have recently tried to reconcile after not speaking "for a decent amount of time." In the Times article, Andrew attributed the strained relationship to Mrs. Giuliani, saying, "There's obviously a little problem that exists between me and his wife."

In a statement to ABC News' "Good Morning America," Andrew Giuliani said: "I got my values from my mother. She's a strong influence in my life. She's a strong woman. I have problems with my father, but that doesn't mean he won't make a good president."

Giuliani has been married three times. His first marriage was annulled. His second marriage to Hanover ended in a highly publicized divorce that was splashed across the New York tabloids.

Giuliani has two children, Andrew and Caroline, from his marriage to Hanover.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030500640.html

[HockeyMom]

5. March in a parade with your mistress

for the world, your wife, and your KIDS to see? It goes way beyond divorce with him. It's called in your face FLAUNTING. How could his children not be bitter with him? Rudy never attempted to cover up his numerous affairs to anyone.

[DemKR]

6. Family values!!

How beautiful.

[DesertRat]

7. I found it telling

when asked about his relationship with his son, Guiliani starts off by saying "My wife Judith is a very loving and caring...."
:eyes:
He just doesn't get it.

[liberalpragmatist]

9. So were the ads against (Dem) Corzine justified?

Remember the NJ governors' race from 2 years ago in which Republican Bob Forrester issued an attack ad in which Jon Corzine's marital problems and estrangement from his family was used against him?

This is very much the same thing. I think this is evidence that Giuliani is an asshole, but I don't know how relevant this is to his job performance. Yes, it would be hypocritical and worthy of public attention if Giuliani were running as a social conservative (ala Reagan) but he isn't. So I'm a little uncomfortable with this line of attack.

[never cry wolf]

10. Ahhhh, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy... Can you spell toast?

"The more privacy I can have for my family, the better we are going to be able to deal with all these difficulties."

Might the "we" you're referring to be your campaign as opposed to your family? Methinks your publican hypocritical petticoats are showing.

[bklyncowgirl]

11. Rudy Guiliani's divorce was one of the most public in American political history

He delivered the message to her via press conference. She guest starred in the "Vagina Monologues". He tried to move his girlfriend into Gracie Mansion. She called out her lawyers. This was all widely publicized at the time much to the delight of most of the population of New York City.

For him to beg for privacy is ridiculous. All you need to do is take a little trip through the archives of the Daily News or the New York Post and you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about the hero of 9/11's private life.

And by the way, one of the reasons that Giuliani is seen as a hero is that he kept his cool in public while his command bunker collapsed around his ears along with the rest of the World Trade Center. How about looking at the judgement of a guy who decided to put his state of the art command bunker in New York City's number one terrorist target?

[Francine Frensky]

12. How can he bring the country together if he can't bring his family together?

Straight from Donna Brazille yesterday, but I think an important question about Guilliani that we should repeat all day.

[rebel with a cause]

13. Besides his family problems

Giuliani may face more tanish to his "hero mayor" image as more and more people become ill from breathing the air in NYC right after 9/11 when he and his people reassured everyone that the environment was safe. They were in such a hurry to make everyone think that things were going back to normalcy that they gave liitle concern to the people liviing and working in the area around the World Trade Centers and the affect of this connection.

Heaven help him if the mayors of the cities where he dumped the NYC homeless come forward to speak out against him. There are a lot of stories out of NYC that the rest of the country knows nothing about yet, but they may by next year.