PrintJuly 31, 2007
Vanity Fair Savages Judith Giuliani
In a vicious piece scheduled to hit newstands next month, Vanity Fair magazine tries to smear GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani's wife by portraying her as an "opportunistic, puppy-killing homewrecker:"
The profile by Judy Bachrach begins with an account of the first anniversary of 9/11 at the World Trade Center site, where Rudy Giuliani was to speak to a crowd including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Hillary Clinton.Needless to say, American history is replete with examples of opponents going after a candidate's or president's wife. The spouse is a sitting target, an easy kill when looking to bring down a candidate. From Andrew Jackson's supposed bigamy to Mary Lincoln's extravagance, all the way up to Nancy Reagan's china and Hillary's legendary tantrums, nasty attacks on the wives of presidents and candidates are a good way to get at their husbands.
Clinton was standing in the aisle "until she was unceremoniously pushed by a phalanx of four burly cops entering the tent, these guarding Judith Nathan, Giuliani's girlfriend . . . 'The nerve of that woman!' Hillary exploded . . . 'Who does she think she is?' Hillary said to an observer, who later recounted the story."
Judith thinks she's royalty, Bachrach maintains, and that's why she wore a tiara to her wedding at Gracie Mansion in 2003. "She really does see herself as a princess," a former Rudy aide is quoted. "Not as a queen. Queen is her goal. Queen is who she wants to be."
But judging from those excerpts, this piece on Judith Giuliani goes overboard in spite and bile - something Vanity Fair is quite good at. It will be interesting to see how Rudy and Judith react to this article since the ex-Mayor will almost certainly have to deal with the issue of his three marriages sometime during the campaign.
