Well, I guess this is one endorsement Rudy won't be getting...

Ha ha ha ha ha... Bernie Kerik, Character Witness

Bernie Kerik vouches for Rudy on the Shag Fund (from the Times) ...

Bernard B. Kerik, who was Mr. Giuliani’s police commissioner when some of the charges were billed, said in an interview yesterday that the security detail’s travel expenses would normally come out of the Police Department’s budget.

“There would be no need for anyone to conceal his detail’s travel expenses,” said Mr. Kerik, who was indicted earlier this month on unrelated federal tax fraud and corruption charges. “And I think It’s ridiculous for anyone to suggest that the mayor or his staff attempted to do so.”

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Well, with a character witness like Bernie vouching for you, who needs credibility?

For more info on Bernie's qualifications as an expert character witness, see, "Ultimate Kerik Scandal List."

The Rudy Canoodle Mistress Story Keeps Going... and Going... and Going...

In a previous post, I discussed how Rudy bilked New York City taxpayers for the expense of his mistress and that not-so-little item keeps growing. It seems Rudy's mistress really did use New York City Police as a taxi service:

Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

"She used the PD as her personal taxi service," said one former city official who worked for Giuliani.

Read more about it here.

Ex-NY city-mayor Ed Koch says it looks like a cover-up to him:

Koch, who served as the mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989, said that the episode gave off the appearance that Giuliani, who was at the time married to his second wife Donna Hanover, was trying to hide his affair. He also argued that providing Judith Nathan her own personal protection (when she was not a member of the first family) constituted an even more flagrant misuse of taxpayer money.

"I found it strange that his lady friend was given protection," said the long-time New York politico. "That was bizarre. She's not the city's responsibility. Rudy is the city's responsibility. Your wife and his children get protection, and that's understood. But certainly not your lady friend."

As for Guiliani's current run for President:

"I'm just amazed that Giuliani is doing as well as he's doing," said Koch. "He doesn't deserve it."

Read more about it here.

Even the NYC Comptroller states that Guiliani "stonewalled" auditors over his mistress' expenses:

City Comptroller William Thompson said Thursday his auditors were "stonewalled" by the Giuliani administration when they inquired about the unusual billing procedures, which he called "disturbing."

Read more from that story here.

Gosh, would that be equivilant to Bill Clinton billing the U.S. taxpayer for Monica's dry-cleaning bill? In other words, if this was a Democrat politician, I do believe we would be hearing the Republican screeching over it from one end of the country to the other.

Where are those upholders of family values now? Lurking in public restrooms? Donning diapers for prostitutes? Masturbating online with children? What's a Republican to do these days? The crowd of viable - and acceptable - Presidential candidates is thinning out. Who'll be the last comic standing?

9-11 families hope to deflate Giuliani's heroic image

WASHINGTON — Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign was supposed to be toast by now, imploded by his hot temper, autocratic ways, tumultuous personal life and moderate views on social issues, which would turn off traditional Republican voters once they got to know the "Real Rudy."

Or so many of Giuliani's critics thought.

Instead, he remains atop the Republican presidential pack in national polls, powered in large part by his image as the steely hero who guided New York through the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

A small but vocal group of New Yorkers will try to puncture that image Monday when they host a town hall meeting at New Hampshire's Dartmouth College to discuss New York's disaster-preparedness under Giuliani before 9-11.

They say that Giuliani's administration failed to address firefighters' radio communication problems, which first surfaced in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; didn't provide proper equipment for rescue workers at Ground Zero; and showed poor judgment by putting the city's $13 million emergency center on the 23rd floor of 7 World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the attack.

They claim that Giuliani was callous in November 2001 when he limited the number of firefighters searching Ground Zero for the remains of nearly 300 fallen comrades. They also accuse him of expediting the cleanup of the site and sending rubble mixed with human body parts to a Staten Island landfill.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

Perhaps we ought to listen to the families...?

The Real Rudy in 30 Seconds