Opinion: Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee speech excerpts
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A trio of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination who John McCain bested -- Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani -- each will do their part for the GOP ticket tonight with speeches at the party’s national convention.
Excerpts of their remarks have been released, with Huckabee attacking Barack Obama on foreign policy, Romney taking a none-too-veiled shot at Michelle Obama and Giuliani rallying to the defense of McCain’s pick for a running mate, Sarah Palin.
Huckabee, in one excerpt, warns of the potential consequences in America’s dealings with foreign enemies if the Democrats win the White House:
Maybe the most dangerous threat of an Obama presidency is that he would continue to give madmen the benefit of the doubt. If he’s wrong just once, we will pay a heavy price.
The economy is not directly addressed in any of the released comments by Huckabee (same with the blurbs from Romney and Giuliani). Obama today took the Republicans to task for failing to address the nation’s economic problems in the convention’s Tuesday night program. But Huckabee does say this, contrasting the two parties’ philosophy:
I’m not a Republican because I grew up rich, but because I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me.
Romney’s shot at Michelle Obama references her much-publicized remark this year about her husband’s showing in the Democratic primary race making her proud of America for the ‘first time’ in her adult life (she later stressed that she misspoke). Says Romney:
Just like you, there has never been a day when I was not proud to be an American. We inherited the greatest nation in the history of the Earth. It is our burden and privilege to preserve it, to renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.
He also scorns Barack Obama’s performance -- and touts McCain’s -- at last month’s forum at Saddleback Church in Orange County sponsored by Pastor Rick Warren, saying (in the prepared remarks):
And at Saddleback, after Barack Obama dodged and ducked every direct question, John McCain hit the nail on the head: radical Islam is evil, and he will defeat it! Republicans prefer straight talk to politically correct talk!
Giuliani makes this case for Palin (the night’s featured speaker), saying she:
represents a new generation. She’s already one of the most successful governors in America -- and the most popular. And she already has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket. She’s led a city and a state. She’s reduced taxes and government spending. And she’s actually done something about moving America toward energy independence -- taking on the oil companies while encouraging more energy exploration here at home. Taxpayers have an advocate in Sarah Palin -- she even sold the former governor’s private plane on Ebay.
-- Don Frederick