Rudy Talks Energy, Iraq, On "Late Show"

And Cooperates With Letterman In A Lighthearted Zing At Hillary

(CBS)  Iowa is a must. So is California, if you're hoping to sit in the big chair in the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

And don't forget the talk shows. Dave, Oprah, Jay, and many more.

Rudy Giuliani is the latest presidential hopeful to grace a talk show stage, in this case, CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," where he dropped by Monday to trade quips and do his best to showcase the reasons why he thinks America should vote for him.

It was a familiar venue for the former New York City mayor, who marked his 28th visit on "Late Show" as he made his case for both the GOP nomination and the general election.

Letterman, who has relentlessly poked fun at President Bush in his nightly comic bit "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches," had questions both serious and comic for the man whose national reputation was bolstered in the days and months following the Sept. 11th attacks.

Asked about the war in Iraq, Giuliani said there should have been a better strategy.

Asked what he'd do on first as president, the New York Republican joked that he'd first locate the bathroom, but he was quick to move on to serious issues.

The first steps a new president should take, says Giuliani, would take place before that first day on the job.

"The first thing you do is you see where you are on Iraq and the war on terror, and make sure they're doing the things you want us to be doing. We don't know where we're going to be on Iraq then," said Giuliani. "You make sure the country is secure, you make sure it's safe. You begin focusing on how we can make progress in keeping the country safe on terrorists, by staying on offense."

Next, he said, would be the process of getting control of the budget. "I would start working on how to reduce spending, how to get it under control, how to look at ways to stimulate the economy — those are the things you start working on right away."

Letterman, speaking for many an aggravated motorist, then asked Giuliani for his views on why gasoline prices have gone through the roof.

"The situation in the Middle East has something to do with it, the fact that we don't have enough refineries has something to do with it," said Giuliani. "There's sort of a bottleneck that occurs — even if we find more oil, it's going to be tough to get it to where it needs to go because we haven't built a refinery in 20, 25 years, 30 years."

"It's because we haven't pursued energy independence — maybe a better way to describe it, energy diversity," he continued. "We haven't pursued ethanol the way we should, we haven't licensed a new nuclear power plant in 30 years. France is 80 percent nuclear power, we haven't done a new one in 30 years, licensed a new one in 30 years. China's going to build 40 nuclear power plants. We haven't licensed one in 30 years."

"All those things probably combine to put us in a situation where not only the price of gasoline is high, but money has to go to our enemies," said Giuliani. "[Oil] used to always be a problem for our economy, going back to Jimmy Carter and even Richard Nixon. But now, it's a problem of national security."

"One of the things I'd commit myself to doing is to achieve energy diversity, or, let's call it — as much energy independence as we can," he said. "And we've got to do it over the next ten years, like we put a man on the moon."

"Wow, nothing's easy, is it?" said Letterman, following up on Giuliani's modified stump speech. "Why would a person want this gig?"

"No, this is a great endeavor," Giuliani replied. "Energy independence is a great endeavor — it creates another new industry for us that we can go sell to China, to India. We need new industries that we can sell to these emerging markets and this would be a great one for us."

"Every night, before you fall asleep at night," said Letterman, nudging the dialogue back into more familiar comedic terrain, "do you think: 'It's going to be me and Hillary, me and Hillary' — is that what it'll come down to?"

"That is not my last thought before I go to sleep at night," said a broadly smiling Giuliani, who was eyed as a rival to Hillary Clinton in the New York Senate race which he left for medical reasons and she ultimately won.

"It could be Senator Clinton, it could be Senator Obama, it could be Senator Edwards, or — who knows? It could be Vice President Gore. Who knows!"

"It's fascinating," Giuliani said, taking a step back from the race and enjoying the view with himself in it. "It's a great, great honor. Every once in a while I wake up in the morning and I pinch myself: 'I'm getting to run for president!' I'm a kid from Brooklyn."

[marilynmanso]

ALL HAIL SATAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[toddpw01]

Rudy is a cheap attempt at a compromise candidate, hoping the Right will forgive his social stance and the Left will forgive his blind vengeance attitude towards terror.

Fox staged a great moment for Rudy after Ron Paul served him a big platter of unpleasant truth, but it proved that Rudy would rather play to the audience than to actually debate the issue.

Anyone who votes for Rudy McRomney is voting for 4 more years of BushCo legacy.

[Syndicate]

clestes: I agree the best qualified person is Bush. We should just reelect him again.

[king77shaw]

the Republican Party platform -

ENERGY policy: Big Oil
FOREIGN policy: AIPAC
HEALTHCARE: Pharma
FISCAL policy: Wall St booms while the middle class starves
NATIONAL DEFENSE: perpetual war that will only profit the corporate war machine at the expense of the troops, their families and the hundreds of thousands of innocents that get slaughtered around the world because of our policies.

EMPLOYMENT: create plenty of good paying jobs - in China & India
EPA: Exxon-Mobil Protection Agency
EDUCATION: why ?, best to keep the masses stupid and gullible ..
RELIGION: best to educate with myth, more pliable than the truth -

... the middle class is insignificant to the Republican Party - they seek a ruling elite and a vast working poor which consolidates wealth and power for their corporate masters, leaving very little for "we the people". America is quickly becoming a third world country riddled with debt under Republican greedership. Is this the way of life we want to protect ? Is this the America we grew up with ? Time to wake up sheeple !

[iceman_1960]

"Asked about the war in Iraq, Giuliani said there should have been a better strategy."

Bush had no strategy when he went into Iraq. As a result, Bush has the blood of many thousands of people on his hands.

Any good strategy by Giuliani or anyone else, would be an improvement.

[grumpas]

Rudy will never make it past the religious nut cases in his party to run in the general election!

[briannorwood]

Just my point! If Rudy gets elected in the most Democratic city in the country (next to S.F.) -- what chance do you think Bubba and Bobby Sue in Alabama have of voting for him.


Vote Rudy in '08!

[mcvet]

......briannorwood, get a clue. Rudy was elected TWICE to the most Democrat city in America and that's because he turned that city around starting in 1993. New Yorkers haven't elected another Democrat since.
Rudy, as a prosecuter went after the mob and wasn't part of it.
And as far as "wife cheating" briannorwood are you supporting Bill and his wife, Hillary Rotten Clinton?? Your tales don't "match" reality.
Posted by perception5 at 08:18 AM : May 22, 2007


Oh PLEASE!! He was in the process of being run out of town before 9/11. He acted a great part after 9/11 and THAT made him. The problem is it was all an ACT and when the American People hear the FULL story of this fake, how he lead New York by ignoring the average citizen for the rich and powerful... they won't elect him.

[briannorwood]

I repeat... Please give us Rudy. It will be very easy to rip past this charlatan. And, I'm pretty sure the christian right will be happy to sit on their hands.

But, if you can't give us Rudy, then please vote for Mitt. That would be even easier!

[perception5]

Republicans:

Please nominate Rudy for president. This flip-flopping, wife-cheating, mafia-connected panderer has so many skeletons in his closet, it will be lots of fun slicing and dicing him in the general election!
Posted by briannorwood at 07:44 AM : May 22, 2007

......briannorwood, get a clue. Rudy was elected TWICE to the most Democrat city in America and that's because he turned that city around starting in 1993. New Yorkers haven't elected another Democrat since.
Rudy, as a prosecuter went after the mob and wasn't part of it.
And as far as "wife cheating" briannorwood are you supporting Bill and his wife, Hillary Rotten Clinton?? Your tales don't "match" reality.

[gunownerdan]

Dr. Ron Paul is basically the only candidate who would obey the presidential oath of office.
Go Ron Paul!!!