Stung by Politico Report, Giuliani Puts Up His Dukes

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 3, 2007

Rudy Giuliani, who made his name prosecuting bad guys, has always taken a two-fisted approach toward what he brands "the liberal media."

That pugilistic style was on display last week when the Politico got under Hizzoner's skin.

In a report posted online at 2:47 p.m. Wednesday, the newspaper said the former New York City mayor had billed tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses to obscure city agencies for repeated visits to the Hamptons when "he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan," who had an apartment there. The issue was picked up in the Republican presidential debate that night.

Giuliani called the piece "totally false," telling CBS's Katie Couric: "This story is five years old. It came out two hours before a debate. It's a typical political hit job with only half the story told, not that second part told -- that every single penny was reimbursed, that all of this was public. . . . But it was a typical -- this particular case -- it was sort of a debate-day dirty trick."

Editor in Chief John Harris says the Giuliani camp has not challenged the facts in reporter Ben Smith's story. "No way this was a hit job," he says. "We took our reporting to them a couple of days in advance. We told them what our reporting had found and asked for explanations. They simply didn't take advantage of that opportunity."

Any suggestion that the story was timed for the debate, Harris says, is "preposterous," adding that no rival campaign was involved.

Smith, a former New York Daily News reporter, had requested the city documents in June under the Freedom of Information Act. Giuliani's spokeswoman had declined to comment, although one aide spoke on a not-for-attribution basis. After the story was published, Giuliani said that he had been under 24-hour police guard because of threats, that he had always followed the same procedure and that agencies such as the Loft Board -- which were utilized for speedier payment -- were reimbursed by the police department.

Maria Comella, a Giuliani spokeswoman, says the Politico story was "neatly packaged in a very salacious and somewhat misleading way. There are inaccuracies in the piece and a mischaracterization of the situation that lends itself to being described as the mayor described it."

Asked to identify the inaccuracies, Comella cited the need for security and the long-standing procedures that were followed. "We say explicitly in the story that the mayor needs 24/7 security," Smith says.

Giuliani routinely uses the Fourth Estate as a foil. In New Hampshire last week, while discussing how he moved 640,000 New Yorkers off the welfare rolls, he said: "I was accused by all of the liberal media of being mean, of being cruel."

In Iowa, while saying he did not know whether waterboarding was torture, Giuliani said he did not believe that U.S. interrogators should use it, based on reports "in the liberal media" -- but he also questioned whether the media's descriptions were accurate. He also said that "the liberal media will immediately think higher taxes" when fiscal policy is discussed. On another occasion, he faulted "the liberal media" for not holding Hillary Rodham Clinton accountable for her criticism of the Iraq war commander, Gen. David Petraeus.

Giuliani honed his political skills during eight years of constant combat with the tabloid-driven New York press. As a White House contender, he is finding the media an equally juicy target, a stance that may well have resonance among Republican primary voters.

Big Decision

Carol Hunter was impressed with her glimpse behind what she calls "the hard-knocks-sculpted political facade" of Hillary Clinton.

When Clinton, in Iowa, talked about loving long nature walks with her husband, "it was not the answer so much as her body language that reflected her genuineness," Hunter says.

Hunter may be the state's most important undecided voter. She is editorial page editor of the Des Moines Register, where six out of seven members of the editorial board -- including Publisher Laura Hollingsworth -- are women. And in the next couple of weeks, they will decide whether to back Clinton or one of her Democratic rivals in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Although newspaper endorsements matter little in presidential politics, the Register's nod is a powerful exception. In 2004, its endorsement of John Edwards helped propel him to a strong second-place finish, transforming him into John Kerry's chief challenger.

That was a different editorial board, though, and political insiders are chattering about whether today's predominantly female lineup will give the former first lady an edge.

"It will cause all sorts of second-guessing," Hunter says. "We can't win. If we endorse her, it will be 'Well, of course.' If we don't, there will be all sorts of questions raised about why."

Perhaps we can look for clues, such as Hunter's column on Clinton's professed love for strolling the hilly green areas around her suburban New York home. Hunter, who grew up on a Kansas farm, writes that America needs a president "committed to leading a green-energy revolution," and that the key is "how much he or she talks about conservation." Hunter has complained that most politicians have "quit talking about poverty" and noted approvingly that Edwards calls poverty "the great moral issue of our time," adding that "a presidential election is no time to think small."

Every White House wannabe except Rudy Giuliani has appeared for questioning by the editorial board. The Register also endorses in the Republican caucuses, but the liberal editorial page has far more clout in the Democratic contest. In that sense, it is the mirror image of the Manchester Union Leader, whose conservative editorial page has substantial influence on the GOP side of New Hampshire's primary and virtually none among Democratic voters.

Richard Doak, the Register's former editorial page editor, says he was surprised by the impact of the Edwards endorsement he wrote. "His crowds doubled overnight after that editorial came out, and tracking polls showed him shooting up in the next week," Doak said. "Caucusgoers tend to be pretty tuned in to the news. They're junkies."

On the other hand, Bill Bradley lost badly to Al Gore despite the paper's backing in 2000. Gore was so determined to get the endorsement that his staff asked for, and was granted, a second interview.

The process is shrouded in secrecy, with the editorial page staff hiding the page proofs so word doesn't leak out early.

Hunter questions whether the paper will have the same impact this year, noting that Edwards, as a second-tier contender in 2004, had plenty of room to rise. "If we endorse Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, who sit atop the polls right now, I don't know whether that would cause any movement. We might be able to solidify support for a candidate."

Multimedia Dilemma

John Harwood is leaving the Wall Street Journal because of Rupert Murdoch -- but not for the reason you might think.

The 16-year Journal veteran admits he had qualms about how the media mogul might change the paper when he takes control in the coming weeks. But Harwood is switching his print allegiance to the New York Times because of complications involving his television career.

He became chief Washington correspondent for CNBC last year while continuing to write about politics for the Journal. It was convenient -- the business network was just down the hall from the paper's Connecticut Avenue NW offices -- and the two outlets had an alliance, with Journal reporters often appearing on the air.

But with Murdoch challenging CNBC with his new Fox Business Network, Harwood felt awkward. "It just put the two parts of my job at odds with each other, which didn't seem unbearable in the short term," he says. "But looking forward, it just wasn't going to be workable. . . . I didn't want to give up my newspaper work entirely. It's in my DNA."

Expertise Optional

CBS News is looking for an environmental reporter for its Web site. Here's the ad on JournalismJobs.com:

"You are wicked smart, funny, irreverent and hip, oozing enthusiasm and creative energy. . . . Knowledge of the enviro beat is a big plus, but not a requirement."

A little ooze goes a long way, apparently.