Swift Boating Rudy? Probably Won't Work.

First, why does the president of the new 9/11 Parents and Families of Firefighters and WTC Victims use the verb "swift boat?" To almost everyone, that verb implies an unfair tarnishing.

A coalition of 9/11 families and rescue workers plans to continue efforts to derail former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's bid for President at a midtown fund-raiser today.

The group will to use the same strategy that helped undermine 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, whose service in Vietnam was challenged by the pro-Bush Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Well -- for months before the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ran its ads, the Bush Campaign had pounded the message that John Kerry was weak, vaccilating and effete; that he was not strong enough to handle the challenges of a post 9/11 environment; that he flip-flopped on the war. The SBVFT ads came on the scene as Republicans and Democrats were fully divided, in their own camps, energized and ready for partisan warfare.

The ads questioning Kerry's military record were specious and unfair, but they succeeding in generating reams of earned media. The second wave of ads were broadcast to a much broader audience and showed footage of Kerry questioning the conduct of American soldiers in Vietnam. Republicans say that the latter tranche of ads succeeded in moving the numbers.

Rudy Giuliani's relationship with the American people was cemented after 9/11, unfolded and grown in real-time, unmediated by partisans. It is extraordinarily difficult to convince Americans, who saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears the leadership skills of Giuliani after 9/11 that he is somehow responsible for failing to stand up for firefighters and WTC families.

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads were unfair but they reinforced a stereotype held by the political elites; the anti-Giuliani ads are at odds with the recieved wisdom, and therefore face much greater obstacles.**

The exception is in New York City, where Giuliani is less popular than he is almost everywhere else, a consequence of New Yorkers having spent years learning who Giuliani was and being able to judge his 9/11 performance in light of what happened before -- and after.

Comments

It will work.

A guy who puts Emergency Response Center in previously hit WTC against the experts advice proves that he has no leadership and judgement. Rudy not only put that center in WTC but also used the same high security bunker to b*ng his then mistress discreetly!

So it will work because these are the facts unlike Swift Boat campaign.

Posted by tm | September 24, 2007 1:25 PM

“Swift Boating” only works when its target either can't refute specific allegations.... or is averse to do so. It also helps if the targeted individual has slandered the military in front of Congress.

On all counts, Giuliani fails to meet these requirements.

Posted by johnny7 | September 24, 2007 2:10 PM

Although I am one of those committed partisans that thinks Rudy's kudos for 9/11 were not completely earned, I agree that it will be hard to defeat the conventional wisdom w.r.t. Rudy and the WTC attacks. It's a truism that conventional wisdom hardens like concrete, but if anti-Rudy types can find a way to puncture his 9/11 cred, his candidacy will be done for, in my opinion.

A far better approach would be to highlight his flip-flopping on some issues (guns, welfare, immigration--there's plenty of fertile ground here) while reminding voters of the godawful home life and questionable judgment (Bernie Kerik, anyone?) that Rudy has often displayed. Republicans have used "character" issues to their advantage for years--it's about time we Democrats stepped up to the plate.

Posted by Lev | September 24, 2007 2:56 PM

John Kerry's earned medals and herorism were achieved through risk to his own life while defending our country. He should be viewed with respect and admiration. However, as seems to be the case with Republicans, they go after opponents strong points- not the weak ones and the benefit from the mistaken myth that they are stronger on defense issues. The Swift Boaters succeeded because the media was complicent and willing go along with the Republicans an not do their job of reporting the facts. And many leadership Democrats stood by expecting Senator Kerry to handle the lies about his service himself. To his credit a former Senator Cleland, himself a victim of the media/Republican alliance, came to Kerry's defense.
As for Guliani, his heroism is mostly fabricated, with the media going along and not doing its job of reporting the facts once again. It is interesting to note that again the media was involved in the formation of public opinion of an individual-in this case a postive nod to a Republican. (so much for the claim of that well worn, "Liberal media bias") Nothing in the media reporting ever refuted some of the bad decisions Gulliani made before or after 9/11. So, you are correct, Gulliani can not be "Swift Boated". The accusations directed at him by the firefighters are not lies or slander, as was the case with Senator Kerry. Gulliani can however, become a victim of his own hollow past catching up with him, and I think the firefighters can help accopmplish this.

Posted by M. Check | September 24, 2007 10:55 PM

The reason Rudy Giuliani remains ahead in the polls, despite dire predictions by the media, is because we all witnessed his leadership in times of crisis, unmotivated by politics, unspun by the media and frankly, it was damn impressive. There were no handlers/political entourages/PR types telling Giuliani what to do or say in September 2001 like there are with all politicians during political campaigns. If John Kerry was brave during his military service then it was unfortunate for him that the public didn't witness it. What we did see were those revolting tapes of him testifying before Congress and we heard what he's said since then about the military. Do you wonder why the Swift Boaters were believed? These people that are going to crawl out of the woodwork during a political campaign and tell us not to believe what we witnessed in September 2001 aren't going to be successful. People will rightly wonder about the timing and people will hate it that their own ability to judge, based on what they witnessed, is coming under attack.

Posted by Laura Cap | September 24, 2007 11:54 PM