Secretary of State Giuliani? He's the Leading Choice, Trump Aides Say

[EarlG]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, is the leading contender to be secretary of state in the Trump administration, campaign officials said on Tuesday, as Vice President-elect Mike Pence plans to join President-elect Donald J. Trump in New York to accelerate the process of filling out his cabinet.

Mr. Giuliani, a loyal, often ferocious backer of Mr. Trumps candidacy, would be a startling choice to be the nations chief diplomat a relentless former federal prosecutor who has viewed foreign policy largely through the prism of the Sept. 11 attacks, which turned him into a national figure.

Though that ordeal gave Mr. Giuliani a firm grounding in domestic security issues, his formal diplomatic experience is slim. Like other New York City mayors, he made occasional ventures into foreign policy, on issues like the Middle East peace process or more parochial concerns, like going after foreign diplomats for their unpaid parking tickets.

Mr. Giuliani, who mounted brief bids for the Senate in 2000 and the White House in 2008, is now best known for his full-throated advocacy of his fellow New Yorker, Mr. Trump. He delivered a speech on his behalf at the Republican National Convention in which he condemned President Obama, saying he had failed to protect Americans from Islamic extremist terrorism.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/donald-trump-cabinet-rudy-giuliani.html

[Alittleliberal]

1. Does the bleeding ever stop?

I wasn't old enough to remember how bad Bush v. Gore really felt. Giuliani as AG is a horrifying prospect.

[randome]

2. However, the Senate has to confirm him and that's not at all a done deal.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[geek tragedy]

6. Rand Paul hates his guts. nt

[OldHippieChick]

17. Bush v. Gore didn't hurt as much

because Bush wasn't a lunatic. Plus we had some time to get used to it and got a rare look inside the Supreme Court as we listened to all the arguments. In many ways it was historic and interesting. Little did we know what Bush would do later, but at the time it did not feel as insane. And we certainly didn't fear his choice for AG or, God forbid, Secretary of State.

[hamsterjill]

3. No diplomatic experience at all.

He will be a disaster.

[SharonAnn]

14. His frothing at the mouth is terrifying.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. Who else was in the running? Newt Gingrich? John Bolton?

I'm surprised Newt wasn't picked. Giuliani seems like a one-trick-pony. Everything is related to 9/11.

[TexasBushwhacker]

8. He went after the mob when he was an Attorney General

I thought Trump would tap him for that role. At least he has experience as a litigator.

[SharonAnn]

13. Maybe those were friends of Trump?

[geek tragedy]

5. How awful is it that I find this a relief. For two reasons:

1) As bad as Rudy as SoS would be, it's infinitely preferable to putting him in charge of the DoJ.

2) Rudy would do less damage as SoS than John Bolton.

[JonLP24]

10. You have a point on John Bolton

Who I thought would be SoS.

[Grey Lemercier]

20. you read my mind

[Astraea]

7. I look forward to having Count Chocula

as our SOS.

[JonLP24]

9. I thought it was going to be Attorney General

Which is scary enough but far more scarier as SoS.

[cstanleytech]

11. Maybe a better position would be for him to be appointed US Ambassador to some country like

Italy, Columbia or Chile.

[Eugene]

12. Rudolph Giuliani's Business Ties Viewed as Red Flag for Secretary of State Job

Source: New York Times

Rudolph Giuliani’s Business Ties Viewed as Red Flag for Secretary of State Job

By MARK LANDLER, ERIC LIPTON and JO BECKER NOV. 15, 2016

WASHINGTON — Rudolph W. Giuliani, facing a flood of questions about whether his business dealings should disqualify him from being named President-elect Donald J. Trump’s secretary of state, on Tuesday defended his lucrative 15 years in the private sector as a credential for the job.

“I have friends all over the world,” Mr. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, said in an interview. “This is not a new thing for me. When you become the mayor, you become interested in foreign policy. When I left, my major work was legal and security around the world.”

As secretary of state, Mr. Giuliani, a loyal, often ferocious backer of Mr. Trump’s candidacy, would make fighting Islamist terrorism the centerpiece of the incoming administration’s foreign policy. He vaulted to national prominence because of his leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he still views foreign policy through the prism of that day.

But Mr. Giuliani’s business ties are a major red flag. He built a lucrative consulting and speechmaking career after leaving City Hall. His firm, Giuliani Partners, has had contracts with the government of Qatar and the Canadian company that is building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and Mr. Giuliani has given paid speeches to a shadowy Iranian opposition group that until 2012 was on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/donald-trump-cabinet-rudy-giuliani.html?_r=0

[gademocrat7]

15. What a nightmare

[obamanut2012]

16. Rand Paul and McCain said no way in hell will Guiliani be in the Cabinet

Nor Bolton.

That leaves a Nazi as Chief Counsel and Palin as Interior and SCOTUS fucked, but that is a wee something.

[MissMillie]

18. I'm going to start calling this the Disney presidency

We have Donald and Mickey, and the addition of Giuliani bring us the Goofy

[PassingFair]

19. Rudy always reminds me of the "Renfield" character in Dracula.

Gives me the CREEPS!

Bolton, however, would be even more destructive on an international level.

I well remember this asshat.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/15/106909/-