Oct 23, 2008 8:58 pm US/Central
Giuliani In Minnesota, Touting Coleman Experience
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) ―
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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Minnesota voters should reelect Norm Coleman to the U.S. Senate because serious times call for someone with experience and a government record.
CBS
The U.S. Senate is "not an entry-level job," former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Thursday as he urged Minnesota voters to reelect Sen. Norm Coleman.
The times call for senators with experience and a government record, Giuliani said at a rally for Coleman at a suburban hotel. Giuliani never spoke the name of Coleman's Democratic opponent, Al Franken, but his comments were aimed at Franken's background as a comedian and entertainer.
"It's not a game, it's not entertainment, it's not a joke. Government is for real," Giuliani said.
Coleman and Giuliani each noted parallels in their backgrounds. They are both former government prosecutors and urban mayors. They stressed an ethic they said is taught by mayoral leadership, that the heart of politics is accomplishing things for constituents.
"It's about results. It's not about rhetoric," Coleman said.
Colleen Murray, a spokeswoman for Franken's campaign, said Coleman "has a lot of experience fighting on behalf of the special interests and standing up for the failed policies of George Bush. That's not the type of experience Minnesota's middle class needs or deserves."
Giuliani was to campaign with Coleman Friday morning at several stops in southern Minnesota. Coleman finds himself a few points behind Franken in several recent polls; as he has recently, Coleman touted his decision to stop negative TV ads by his campaign, and said he would like to be part of reducing partisan tension in Washington.
"There are issues in this country that are bigger than what one party can solve," Coleman said.
Giuliani and Coleman defended Giuliani's recent recording of automated "robocalls" that are critical of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's lack of support for mandatory minimum prison sentences for some crimes. The calls have not been placed in Minnesota, but have turned up in other states including Wisconsin. Coleman last week condemned McCain's robocalls, but said Thursday that the contrast Giuliani tries to draw in his calls is a fair one.
"It wasn't a personal attack, it wasn't negative campaigning at all," Giuliani said. "I pointed out that Barack Obama didn't support mandatory minimum sentences. I've worked very hard for mandatory minimum sentences. That's just his record."
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Norm Coleman was born in New York City in 1949. Al Franken was born in New York City in 1951.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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