Philosophically, you'd think Rudy Giuliani might align more closely with Mitt Romney than with Newt Gingrich. So what's behind Rudy's recent statement that Gingrich could be the stronger candidate? And why did Giuliani go on Morning Joe today to trash Romney as "elitist" and "a man without a core, a man without a substance"?
Well, Rudy also reminded viewers that "I ran against him in '07, '08." And as Rich Lowry has observed, "in 2008, the other Republican candidates hated Romney." Just this morning, John Podhoretz tweeted: "Re: Rudy's attacks on Romney today. Remember: SOMETHING kept Rudy out of NH in '08 when it could have been a strong state for him." So Rudy's remarks could reflect the triumph of personal animus over political ideology. Video after the jump.
Note Regarding The Screengrab: No, Rudy wasn't on the verge of a Chuck Todd moment. He was snapping his fingers to show how fast Romney can, in his view, change positions.
RUDY GIULIANI: There's something wrong when you've been running as long as Mitt has, and you're at 25%, and you don't go much above, and you don't go much below. 75% of the other Republicans are telling you something about him.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: So what do you think the problem is?
GIULIANI: Well I think it's deeper, I think it's deeper than just he's kind of staid and everything else. I ran against him in '07, '08. I have never seen a guy--and I've run a lot of elections, supported a lot of people, opposed them--never seen a guy change his positions on so many things so fast--on a dime . . . Now what will Barack Obama do to that? What Barack Obama will do to that is: this is a man without a core. This is a man without a substance. This is a man who will say anything to become President of the United States. I think that is a great vulnerability.
