How Can I Hurt Thee? Let Me Count the Ways
Number two: Huh, nevermind, I guess number one might do the trick.
Giuliani has a daughter who has indicated support for Democrat Barack Obama and a son who said he didn't speak to his father for some time. His ugly divorce from their mother, Donna Hanover, was waged publicly while Giuliani was mayor of New York. Giuliani has since remarried.Answering questions at a town-hall meeting, Giuliani was asked why he should expect loyalty from GOP voters when his children aren't backing him.
"I love my family very, very much and will do anything for them. There are complexities in every family in America," Giuliani said calmly and quietly. "The best thing I can say is kind of, 'Leave my family alone, just like I'll leave your family alone.'"
How about we don't expect our candidates to expect our "loyalty," but instead to use our judgment? I don't owe Giuliani or any other candidate my loyalty, but I owe it to myself and the free electoral process to use my judgment as to who would be the best president. And my judgment doesn't include the opinions or "loyalty" of a daughter and a son who are, shall we say, highly motivated not to go out of their way to make their dad look good to America. The son not speaking to his father for a time is a highly personal and probably entirely normal reaction to a messy divorce, not a political statement. And the daughter's endorsement of Obama is largely irrelevant, as--unmentioned in the article--she's about 18 years old. When did you last take election advice from a teenager?
I have a different question for New Hampshire questioner Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien: Your daughter is five. When she's eighteen, get back to us on how much your teenager's opinion of you should matter on your resume.
If Giuliani's marital record matters to you, judge it on that basis alone--not according to what his undoubtedly hurting children feel about him at present.