Another Rudy Blunder

Likely, by the time you read this, Rudy will have retracted at least some of this comment, but it's worth talking about anyway:

DERRY, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, whose strained relations with his children have drawn unwelcome attention in the race for U.S. president, asked on Thursday that voters "leave my family alone."

The former mayor of New York conceded there were "complexities" among his relatives but said any troubled relationships were irrelevant to his performance in public life.

"I love my family very, very much, and I would do anything for them," he said at a town hall meeting. "The best thing I can say is, kind of, to leave my family alone, you know, just like I'll leave your family alone.

On the face of it, a fair statement to make. It's "none you busaness" as we say here in the city.

Except....

"If you want to judge me or I want to judge you, we'll judge each other on our public performance. I don't know your private life. You don't know my private life," he said.

Then why the gay bashing, Mr. Giuliani? Why the flip flop on a woman's right to choose? Indeed, if it works for you, that we should stay out of your personal business, then it works the other way, that people should be free to live their lives as privately as living in any society should be allowed, free from the burden of having to defend their (legal) choices and not be forced to hide behind cloaks and shutters in order to be who they are?

And, sir, we might point out that it was YOU who dragged your problems with Donna Hanover out into the public spotlight, announcing your adulteries and your intentions to divorce at, of all things, a press conference during your abortive run for Senator from New York! Who does that, drags his spouse through that kind of public humiliation and THEN a few years down the road decides, no no, it's my life, go lead your own life, leave me alone?

Is a press conference a private matter? YOU put your family history on television for the world to digest. Sorry, but you don't get a mulligan here: you took the shot and now you ought to expect to be questioned on it closely.

And I say that as someone who has tried (and admittedly failed) to keep stories about Jenna and NotJenna Bush off this blog, because frankly, they didn't run for President.

I'll be out of the country when this post runs, and I don't expect you'll have had a change of heart regarding this comment, but just know it will come back to haunt you if I have my druthers here.