Rudy attacks Dem desperation for defeat

AP/Washington Post:

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, who has called Democrats "the party of losers," specifically criticized John Edwards and Barack Obama on Friday for their proposals on tax reform and diplomacy.

One day after lashing out at Democrats for seeking a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq _ and drawing a sharp rebuke, Giuliani singled out Democratic rivals Edwards and Obama.

Edwards offered a proposal on taxes Thursday that calls for increasing the rates for the wealthy and providing breaks for the middle class. The plan would raise the top tax rate on long-term capital gains.

"This is a Democratic program to drive businesses and jobs out of the United States of America," Giuliani said at a restaurant. "Capital gains are realized by a lot of middle-class people who have investments in mutual funds. This is a tax on everybody."

On Monday, Obama suggested that as president he would be willing to meet with leaders of nations such as Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea without preconditions _ a notion that has drawn scorn for his Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Giuliani called it a "terrible mistake," adding: "Fidel Castro is a dictator and he is a murderer. He should not be visiting with U.S. presidents."

On Thursday, during a stop in Houston, Giuliani called Democrats "the party of losers" for demanding a scheduled pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq.

"Democrats have already declared we've lost," the former New York mayor said. "It's really strange. The Democrats want to give our enemies a timetable."

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Democrats whined in response that it has taken too long to win in Iraq. This shows their profound ignorance of the time needed to fight and win against insurgencies. The typical time period is 11 years and typically the insurgents lose. By trying to compress the time needed the Democrats are trying to insure defeat. This is a debate that Giuliani should continue and should win. Victory depends on it.