One of the most driven candidates in memory, Rudy Giuliani, seems to be engaged in a constant effort to convey light-heartedness when questioned by the media. It would seem he is out to sweeten up the rather grim rationale of his candidacy -- that electing him, and not someone else, could keep the enemy from killing us all.
Sometimes this odd mix of the giddy and the somber can get a bit puzzling.
A case in point: On Friday, Michael Smerconish was filling in for Bill O'Reilly on the "Radio Factor" show. Smerconish interviewed the former mayor about his Florida-based campaign strategy. He asked him to elaborate on the point made in one of his commercials that one should not adhere to "the pundits."
"What's that all about?" Smerconish asked. Giuliani chuckled and began to respond. "And by the way," Smerconish added, "you weren't talking about me, were you, Mayor?"
“It was really just a joke," Giuliani replied. "I mean, it was to lighten things up a bit -- to basically say, you know, they all have this analysis of different strategies and the reality is ultimately, it's all about leadership, and it’s about who do you want to lead, and you’ve got to kind of cut through the underbrush and get to the point.”
OK, so here's what the voice-over says in this ad, posted here last week, which begins with a bank of TV commentators yakking at once: "With pundits handicapping the campaign like the Superbowl, its easy to lose sight of what’s at stake: An economy in peril. A country at war. A future uncertain. The media loves process. Talking heads love chatter. But Florida has a chance to turn down the noise, and show the world that leadership is what really matters."
Now, which part of this ad was "just a joke?"
Very weird.
Dan Janison