Giuliani: Campaign Plan Was Stolen

Spokeswoman: Presidential Blueprint Taken From Aide's Suitcase, Photocopied And Returned To Suitcase

(CBS/AP)  Was a 140-page document outlining Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign strategy lost or stolen?

According to Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel, the plan was stolen from an aide's suitcase last fall, photocopied, and then returned to the aide's suitcase.

"This is clearly a dirty trick," Mindel told the New York Daily News. "The voters are sick and tired of this kind of thing."

The document was given to the Daily News, which published a story about the Giuliani plan on Tuesday. The newspaper said it obtained the document from a source sympathetic to one of Giuliani's presidential rivals.

The source said the plan had been left behind in one of the cities where Giuliani campaigned for GOP candidates prior to the November 2006 election.

The campaign blueprint includes a plan to raise at least $100 million in 2007 getting the support of major GOP donors like Lew Eisenberg and Larry Bathgate, both from New Jersey, and Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx, the paper reported. Those three are already supporting Sen. John McCain's bid.

The document also predicts some $100 million could be spent against Giuliani to highlight political vulnerabilities like his three marriages, his support for disgraced former aide Bernard Kerik and his moderate position on social issues, such as abortion, gun control and gay rights.

Mindel downplayed the importance of the plan, saying it was "simply someone's ideas which were committed to paper over three months ago."

Since stepping down as mayor of New York, Giuliani has built a thriving business as a security consultant. An adviser to one of Giuliani's potential GOP presidential rivals -- Sen. John McCain -- was quick to point out the embarrassment losing such a document might produce.

“I’m surprised that something like that would ever leave the custody of a campaign, and that such raw and frank information would be around the countryside,” McCain adviser John Weaver told the New York Times.

Giuliani is a hugely popular fundraiser for his party, due largely to his response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, for which he was dubbed "America's Mayor." He leads McCain in most polls.

Mindel told the Times she did not know whether Giuliani would seek a criminal investigation into the alleged theft.

[frankly6]

I've heard of this plan. I believe it's called Plan 9 From Outer Space.

[pugster]

FARTKNOCKER2, oh yeah, blame on the Democrats. Of course, you got proof of that.

[mick7744]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy then Herr Giuliani!

Cheesy Guiliani you are lucky 911 saved you from a miserable end to your political career, please dont push your luck with a Presidential run.

You dont care about America, or you would not have pushed your crony Keroiac or whatever into such a sensitive position right after we were viciously attacked on 911.

Go to hell Guiliani, alongwith Bush.

[ov442]

How lack of moral character... every time the GOP screws up or commits a crime, its the Democrats fault or the poor and needy. Or both.

All those nice things said about Ford yesterday by the Top Level Repubs were true, too bad the ones saying it werent following in the footsteps of a good man like Ford.
Every "Old-school" traditionalist republican with an ounce of integrity has now spoken out against the tactics, policies, judgements, and actions of the current Republican party and Administration leaders. That says a lot to those that think the Current Republican party has any values or policy direction to tout in their campaigns.

[rafterman1]

"the plan was stolen from an aide's suitcase last fall, photocopied, and then returned to the aide's suitcase."

How do they know? And if they know this, then of course they would know WHO did it and they will be soon pressing charges I'm sure. (that's sarcasm by the way).

But of course it's never their fault when caught with their pants down, it's always the Dems setting them up, isn't it? Apparently, no Repub has ever done anything wrong EVER, they are always the victims of the ill will of others.

By the way lefties, why the hate for Rudy anyways? He's a moderate, not another right wing Bush wacko. If we have to have another Repub president, he's probably someone we should be on board with. Same thing with Hilary and the Repubs. The righties are all having fits because Hilary might be president, but she's a moderate who agress with a number of Repub positions. If you all can't have a Repub as president, you should be thankful for Hilary as she's not a far left wacko like you try to make her out to be.

[bildooreilly]

Giuliani dresses like a woman at private political events and goes by the name Rudia. He also lives with 2 homosexuals... I guess this fully qualifies him as a "conservative" candidate... *** is this world coming to...

Fact is neither party will have a suitable candidate, all their political ****** are all f**cked out...

[exyahootroii]

Guiliani, you lousy scumbag, you were only good enough for a corrupt New York City.

[house015]

Three marraiges, naming a poor job candidate and being a moderate? If that's all it takes for "game over", Clinton and Kennedy would never have been in office. And to compare the man to Hitler ("Herr Guiliani") is just offensive. Sorry he enforced the law and got the city back into a tourist mecca. How facist of him.
If the man runs, I vote for him. Period.

[susieq_13]

If he runs for president; I'd vote for him too.

[Syndicate]

Perhaps these documents should be copy righted. This would allow for major ramifications for anyone making illegal copies and any paper publishing them. When it comes to dirty tricks neither party has a monopoly. What was it the dems did? Oh yea they sat on the Foley *** scandal for a year inorder to smear the Republicans at the election thats almost as bad as the Republicans trying to cover it up. The Dems will do anythijng to stay in power just like the Repubs.

[bodiddle49]

Check with Mr. Bush. Seems this patriot act covers everything so he should know about it or can pry into all the other candidates personal info for you.

[sunolian-2009]

A potential presidential candidate, whose thriving line of work since leaving office as Mayor of New York has been "security", employs staff who lose track of, at least for a while, his campaign strategy blueprint. Amazing! The irony! Perhaps, Rudy should be hired by his own campaign to first build an appropriately secure organization before offering his services any further to fee paying customers. We all make mistakes of course, but if this campaign can't keep track of something as highly confidential as his campaign strategy blueprint, what would this portend for our country in terms of security were he to be elected?

[besscannon-2009]

WHOA!! Gulianni is just another political malfunctional misfit, the same as all the others. If they are the candidate of OUR party, we white-wash them, excuse their most grievous faults and short comings and try to fantasize them to fit the picture of what we want our candidate to look like and be. The other party's man/woman, we condemn in every way we can. It amazes me how extremely easy it is for most of the American voters to be brain-washed and led to the alter like helpless lambs. We need a 3rd party to wake our political system up and get our governing bodies reenergized to look and behave more like the founding fathers intended. They wanted this country run peacefully, not trying to exert our will on every other country we don;t think is doing things the way they should. Let's quit being mercenaries, wise up, and get our country back to America the Beautiful. It is OUR fault when we elect the wrong kind of people and let them
reign over us. Where is our spirit of freedom? We aren't free. We are RULED by the Elite because WE LET THEM!!!

[rafterman1]

I don't subscribe to the "a third party will save politics" idea. The only difference would be, instead of two idiots running, you'd have three. Just a greater choice of idiot. It's campaign finance reform that will save politics. The day that ten million dollars isn't needed to run for president is the day we will get on the right road.

[galaxiana]

Giuliani is full of ***! In the original story that broke this whole thing, (http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/485008p-408347c.html) it was noted that certain things were written in INK, and others were highlighted in YELLOW MARKER. Do you really believe that someone stole this document, photocopied it, AND made notations and highlighting AND had it bound into a binder?

More likely, the campaign staffer that left it lying in a coffehouse somewhere is lying to save his own butt. Too bad Giuliani reads people so poorly as to not even see through his own assistant's lies, unless Guiliani himself is the one lying to us. And he wants to be President, where reading people and diplomacy skills are critical? Sheeesh!