Well Played, Sir.

Rudy handled the MoveOn.org ad, "she who must not be named" and the NY Times quite deftly this week.

At a press availability in Atlanta, the former mayor lambasted critics of Gen. David Petraeus and President Bush's counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq. He attacked the antiwar MoveOn.org for an advertisement in Monday's New York Times that asked, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" He noted that the Times had sold the ad space to MoveOn at a discount rate. And he included Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton among those who question Petraeus's credibility.

More, Giuliani upped the ante. He called upon the Times to sell him ad space at MoveOn's discount rate, which would allow him to run an ad of similar size praising Petraeus's efforts in Iraq. "We are going to ask the New York Times to allow us tomorrow to print an ad that will obviously take the opposite view," Giuliani said. "We believe, unlike Hillary Clinton, that General Petraeus is telling the truth."

This bold move is classic Giuliani. Hizzoner practices the politics of confrontation, in which he chooses a position and relentlessly pursues those who hold the opposite view. In this case, Giuliani's position is support for the war in Iraq and General Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy. And his opponents make up a trifecta of liberal bogeymen: MoveOn, the Times, and Clinton. By raising the stakes, Giuliani emphasizes to conservatives that he is on their side--something many are not quite ready to believe.