50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

Top 10 Campaign Gaffes

#7. Rudy's Busy Signal

Sept. 21, 2007

"Quite honestly, since Sept. 11, most of the time when we get on a plane, we talk to each other and just reaffirm the fact that we love each other."
— Rudy Giuliani, explaining why he interrupted a speech to the National Rifle Association to answer a cellphone call from his wife, Judith

The odd interruption got a nervous laugh from the crowd as he answered: "Hello, dear. I'm talking to the members of the NRA right now. Would you like to say hello?" The next day, the New York Times ran a story, under the headline, "Just a Moment. It's My Wife. Again," which questioned whether Giuliani had staged the phone call to soften his tough-guy image in front of a hostile audience, noting that a similar scene occurred in June during a speech to Cuban immigrants.

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