Quote of the Day

"In the debate Tuesday, [Rudy Giuliani ] turned an attack from Mitt Romney on his opposition to the line-item veto into an attack on Romney's honesty, an attack on the Clintons, and a chance to boast about his strict constructionist approach to the Constitution. In the cramped, sound-bite-only debate context, the only way he could have achieved more is if he'd done all of this while making an omelet."

- John Dickerson, writing for Slate.com

Rudy's Debating Secret
Why Giuliani Keeps Trouncing His Opponents When They Go Head To Head
Politics for Slate

The Republican presidential candidates held seven debates, and Rudy Giuliani has dominated almost every one. He does so, in part, by showing an awesome command of detail, citing facts about everything from bridge reconstruction in New York to the to the percentage decline n tax revenues when capital-gains tax rates have changed. He boasts about having studied Senate bills that the senators running in either party haven't even read. When he is asked to comment about Supreme Court rulings, his staff has to wait until he's read the opinions. He's also shown in the debates that he can take advantage of an opportune moment, making quick-witted jokes about the lightening that interrupted one of his answers or pouncing on Ron Paul when he suggested Osama Bin Laden initiated his attacks on America because of our presence in the Middle East.

Debates are artificial and phony, yet Giuliani has used them well because his stage performance reinforces his strengths. He comes off as a guy in control, bursting with snappy competence. Rudy wants you to know that he has read the brief, knows the facts, and could organize an orderly evacuation of the building if someone yelled "fire." When voters see him in command on stage, it's probable that they are reminded of his calm public face after 9/11 attacks. The strong performance also help Giuliani's argument that he can beat Hillary Clinton. She's a polished and effective debater too. He's showing he can match her.

But one secret to Giuliani's debate success is that he doesn't mind fudging all of those facts he cites. In the Tuesday debate, Giuliani asserted once again that he had passed 23 new tax cuts as New York mayor. This is an exaggeration. According to FactCheck.org and Politifact.com, he can rightly claim credit for about 14 of those cuts. One of the largest cuts for which he claims credit he initially opposed for five months before changing his position. He also claims to have added more cops in New York than he actually did and cherry-picks data to support inflated claims about the number of adoptions during his tenure. After the Tuesday debate, FactCheck.org found a host of new faulty claims.

Giuliani was also wrong, or at least oversimplifying matters, in one of his most dramatic debate moments. When Ron Paul suggested that the United States' actions in the Middle East might have motivated Bin Laden and the 9/11 attackers, Giuliani jumped on him, demanding that he withdraw such an outrageous claim. It was great theater but Paul was right, according to Bin Laden's own writings.