Giuliani - What A Drag
The buzz here on the final day of CPAC doesn't have anything to do with policy, but with the dress code for Presidential candidates. Should they wear ties, or open-collar shirts with sport coats? Or, perhaps, a feather boa:
Rudy Giuliani's liberal stance on abortion, guns and gays wasn't his biggest problem yesterday as he addressed a conference of conservative activists - it was his having dressed in drag.A whisper campaign targeting the front-running GOP White House contender's cross-dressing stunts at gala political dinners in New York and on "Saturday Night Live" was the hot topic among right-leaning activists.
"A lot of people are talking about it. It's not respectable. They use it as a way to highlight all of his other shortcomings," Las Vegas conservative Bruce Feher told The Post.
Giuliani, who addressed the key gathering yesterday, may top national GOP presidential polls, but conservatives already uneasy with Giuliani's positions on social issues were latching on to his gags as a drag queen.
If this is the worst problem Giuliani has with conservatives here at CPAC, then he can expect smooth sailing to the nomination. Dressing in drag is a comedic tradition that goes back to burlesque and probably further than that. Comedians like Milton Berle and the Monty Python troupe have made it a staple of humor over the last several decades, and I'd dare anyone attending costume parties to find one where not a single man cross-dressed for a laugh.
Critics complain that it doesn't look "presidential", but Rudy wasn't president at the time. He was Mayor, and his constituents didn't complain about it. No one can argue that it somehow made him less effective as Mayor, given his long track record of success in NYC.
Let's quit trying to find dirt in our own people and spend more time debating policy in an intelligent and mature fashion. Unless Giuliani starts taking meetings in drag, this is one of the sillier developments in a conference that has had more than its share of goofiness.
UPDATE: Perhaps we can get Mayor Giuliani to bid on e-Bay for one of Mary Katherine Ham's shoes. Jane has the scoop on this new fundraiser (for her and me).
Posted by Ed Morrissey on March 3, 2007 12:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)
