A lot of things get Rep. Peter King all hot and bothered: Muslims, Osama bin Laden death photos, and pizza tourism, to name three. But nothing gets him more riled up than the possibility of his good friend and Mayor of 9/11 Town Rudy Giuliani running for president again...but only if they let Rudy be himself this time: “The main problem last time was that nobody let Rudy be Rudy, you want a tough guy to make the tough decisions, and I think that would appeal across the board and to tea party members.”
Earlier this week, King started stirring up the Rudy pot by going on "Fox & Friends" and talking up Giuliani's chances; he said that “as of this moment [Rudy's] very much inclined to run,” and also that “as of now he very much wants to run and this time he would focus on New Hampshire.” He was even more definitive with CBS: "In fact, I would say if he had to make the decision today, it would be yes,"
And if Rudy won't run, then King will have no choice but to do so himself. He told Fox News that Nassau County GOP Chairman Joe Mondello “put my name forward” earlier this month, and he would “consider it; I’m not taking my name back. Obviously, if Rudy jumps in, I would support him, but if not, you know, I’ll see what happens. Stranger things have happened.” Like "Muslim radicalization" hearings?
Speaking of strange things...where exactly is Giuliani? Why, he's in Peru! Giuliani has been hired as a “security consultant” by Peruvian presidential nominee Keiko Fujimori, the 35 year-old daughter of Alberto Fujimori, the former president who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations. So he's stuck himself in the middle of an election that Nobel Prize-winning writer Mario Vargas Llosa said was like choosing between AIDS and cancer.
Should Rudy not end up running, and it turns out King has just been pointlessly flirting with running in his stead, there's always a mama Grizzly waiting in the wings!
