Giuliani gets support from families of the fallen for peace through strength

Washington Post:

A black marble wall, etched with the names of the fallen, is the candidate's backdrop. After he thanks the local dignitaries and muckety-mucks, he points out that several people in the audience lost loved ones in Iraq. He invites them to the rostrum. What happens next proves immensely more powerful than anything a politician could ever say.

"A sniper killed my child."

She's Carolyn Woods, and her son, Julian Woods, was killed in Fallujah on Nov. 10, 2004. She says she supports the war even as she continues to mourn.

"There's not a day goes by that my heart does not break for my son."

As she speaks, a heckler in the distance, someone who has followed Giuliani for days, shouts something indecipherable.

"They don't get the picture," Woods says, referring to the heckler and his ilk. "They can go home to their sons and daughters and hug and kiss them...and I never got a chance to tell my son how proud I was of him, and that doesn't deter me."

Next comes a father, Dave Seamans, whose son, Timothy Seamans, died in Iraq on Aug. 18, 2005.

"His room is still there, his things are still there."

After a third parent speaks, Giuliani launches into his speech, vowing to keep America strong, defeat the terrorists, expand the military. He calls for 10 new combat brigades for the Army, more Marines, more ships for the Navy, a bigger Coast Guard. He doesn't mention how he will pay for all this and cut taxes, too.

"The best way to win wars is through overwhelming strength, perseverance. And the best way to prevent wars is through overwhelming strength. Peace through strength is the answer, not peace through weakness," he says.

...

It is interesting that he has finally gotten the media to notice someone besides Cindy Sheehan when it comes to families who have lost a love one. The families at the Giuliani rally are the ones who get it. They understand what their family members were doing for all of us and how important that job is. Rudy needs to build on that strength to get his campaign going again. The mixed results in the early states still gives him a chance, but he needs Florida to make that chance work. National security can still be a winner for him.