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Is We Is, Or Is We Ain’t, Giuliani’s Firewall?

Posted Aug 28, 2007 by William March

Updated Aug 28, 2007 at 03:41 PM

A Washington Post political blog reported a couple of hours ago on a slide presentation given to Rudy Giuliani volunteers that identified Florida as Giuliani’s “firewall” in the early primary season.

Does that mean Giuliani views the Jan. 29 Florida primary as a make-or-break event in his quest for the nomination? That we are No. 1 in his heart?

Giuliani has often spoken of how much “at home” he feels in Florida, home to thousands of retired New Yorkers and rich in the ethnic groups, including Jews and Italians, that impart cultural diversity to New York City. He has paid heavy attention to Florida, and hasn’t concentrated as hard on the even earlier “early states,” refusing to compete in the Iowa straw poll, for example.

Alas, we are not to feel so special.

The Post quotes Tony Carbonetti, a senior adviser to the campaign, as dismissing the idea that Giuliani views Florida as the linchpin.

“Florida’s the firewall, New Jersey’s the firewall, Connecticut’s the firewall, New York’s the firewall,” he said.

Further wrenching our heartstrings, he added that the document was put together by the campaign’s state staff, not its national staff, in order to “motivate our volunteers.” In other words, sweet but empty blandishments.

Asked about the accuracy of the Post post, a campaign staffer referred to Carbonetti’s quotes therein as the campaign’s sole response.