Saturday, March 31, 2007

Rudy Giuliani Backpedals

Or clarifies (take your pick), trying to do damage control because promoting the idea of your wife being involved in policy would be something you might say when you are campaigning in the general election but not the primary. You certainly don't say it trying to woe conservative voters who still have nightmares about the Clinton presidency.

Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani said Friday his wife will not be a member of his Cabinet or attend most high-level meetings as he sought to clarify his previous statements suggesting she would play a significant role in his administration.

Giuliani, in interview comments released Thursday, had said he'd be open to his wife attending Cabinet meetings on issues in which she's interested. "If she wanted to. If they were relevant to something that she was interested in. I mean that would be something that I'd be very, very comfortable with," Giuliani told Barbara Walters on ABC News' "20/20."

Late Friday, the campaign issued a statement in which the former New York City mayor suggested that would not be the case.

"Obviously, she will not be a Cabinet member or attend most Cabinet meetings _ if any. But she will pursue a campaign to educate Americans on preventing illness and promoting overall health."

Judith Nathan Giuliani was a nurse.

In the statement, the former mayor sought to play down his own remarks and suggested any discussion of a policy role for his wife was merely prompted by Walters' questioning.

"Judith and I got a good laugh after we heard that she would be a member of the Cabinet, especially after she made it clear in the interview with Barbara Walters that she is not particularly interested in politics or policy,"
(via)

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I Just Experienced Deja Vu