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Mavdog · 01-03-2007, 02:07 PM

'This is clearly a dirty trick'
BY DAVID SALTONSTALLand BEN SMITH
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007

The fledgling Giuliani presidential campaign charged yesterday that it was the victim of a mysterious "dirty trick" in the theft of the former mayor's political road map for 2008.
The astonishing charge threatened to overshadow the candid details in the 140-page strategy guide obtained by the Daily News from a source sympathetic to a rival campaign.

"This is clearly a dirty trick," said Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel. "The voters are sick and tired of this kind of thing."

Mindel said that while working on the 2006 campaign trail, a Giuliani aide lost a piece of luggage containing the paper.

"During one leg of his campaign travel, all luggage was removed from a private plane and later put back on," she said in a statement. "However, one staffer's bag was not returned.

"After repeated requests over the course of a few days, the bag was finally returned with the document inside. Because our staffer had custody of this document at all times except for this one occasion, it is clear that the document was removed from the luggage and photocopied."

She did not say exactly where or when the strategy paper was lost, or what was in it, but Mindel downplayed its importance, saying it is "simply someone's ideas which were committed to paper over three months ago."

Still, the paper outlines personal and political pitfalls for Giuliani and a boldly ambitious fund-raising goal of $100 million for this year.

And the depth of detail in the document, as well as the contents - which include a more detailed portrait of Giuliani's financial backers than the campaign has disclosed - belies the notion that the dossier is the stray ramblings of a junior aide.

A handwritten memo containing a list of Giuliani's vulnerabilities - from his second and third wives to his private-sector business - appears to have been written by a senior aide with a focus on fund-raising.

Personal notes there and elsewhere in the document suggest that the memo, along with much of the contents of the dossier, were prepared by chief fund-raiser Anne Dickerson, a former campaign aide to President Bush who joined Giuliani amid fanfare in May.

"Does any of it cause RWG to lose his lustre? confidence?" the memo asked, referring to Giuliani, whose middle name is William, by his initials. "Donors to drop off?"

A note written in the margin contained yet another concern: "False comfort with numbers," apparently referring to Giuliani's high poll numbers.

The dossier also reveals a wealth of information about where Giuliani plans to raise the $100 million-plus that the fund-raising plan suggests he needs this year.

One name appears throughout the document: Paul Singer, a discreet hedge-fund tycoon who has been described as the Republican George Soros. He was one of George Bush's most important financial supporters in 2004, a donor to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and a prominent backer of an anti-affirmative action campaign in Michigan, according to campaign finance and press reports.

Singer is listed as heading the campaign's effort to raise cash from hedge-fund donors, and as playing a central role in recruiting other contributors. He also has apparently been given the sensitive task of recruiting family members of victims and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks to Giuliani's campaign. One note in the handwritten memo, apparently a task for Giuliani aide Denny Young, reads: "9/11 groups for PS to contact." Paul Singer is the only member of Giuliani's team with those initials.

The dossier also included the invitation list to a Nov. 15 luncheon at the posh '21' restaurant in Manhattan that marked the first real gathering of top supporters of Giuliani's exploratory bid.

At the time, Giuliani insiders released the names of only about a half-dozen of the meeting's participants, including Texas oilman Boone Pickens, former California gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, and Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Stars.

But the fuller list includes more than 40 names from 25 different states, including Iowa, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and other important presidential battlegrounds.

The list suggests that Giuliani has been casting a much wider net than previously disclosed, and sometimes into waters that conservative voters may find troublesome. Among the invitees, for instance, was Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands gambling empire stretches from Nevada to China and has made him the third richest man in the nation, according to Forbes.com.

An attached agenda suggests that the group got an overview of Giuliani's presidential finance plan from Dickerson, and a political overview from Giuliani strategists Pat Oxford, Chris Henick and Anthony Carbonetti. Then they adjourned to the Grand Havana Room, one of the few private clubs in the city that still allows smoking.

THE SECRET FILES

The 140-page dossier obtained by the Daily News reveals both the hopes and the fears of Rudy Giuliani and his aides as the former mayor ponders a run for President in 2008. Some highlights from the memo, apparently compiled at the end of October, include:

* A handwritten page listing "problems" that Giuliani could face, among them:

His association with disgraced former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik.

His breakup with ex-wife Donna Hanover and his marriage to Judith Nathan.

His business interests and his views on "social issues," which are decidedly more liberal than most Republicans'.

* Giuliani's aides have created an aggressive fund-raising schedule that sets a $100 million to $125 million "baseline" goal for 2007.

The plan calls for 250 fund-raising events over the course of the year, including 50 between Feb. 15 and March 31.

* Borrowing a page from George W. Bush, Giuliani may categorize his top fund-raisers. Using baseball metaphors, "Team Captains" would bring in $1 million each, MVPs would bring in $200,000 each, All-Stars would bring in $100,000 and Sluggers would raise $50,000.

* His personal schedule reveals a man pulled far afield: In a three-month period, Giuliani was to be in 11 countries on four continents.

* Notes suggest his aides were more concerned about Giuliani's vulnerability than he would ever let on. "Does any of it cause RWG [Giuliani] to lose his lustre? confidence? Donors to drop off? Drop out of race?"

****
The dossier contains a wish-list flow chart of "prospective" key Republican backers. Some have signed onto Giuliani's campaign; others have not committed or have gone to a rival.

Joining Team Giuliani: Home Depot founder Ken Langone, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and Texas oilman Boone Pickens.

Joining the presidential exploratory committee of rival Republican Sen. John McCain: New Jersey fund-raisers Lew Eisenberg and Larry Bathgate, FedEx CEO Fred Smith and financier Henry Kravis.

Uncommitted: Paramount CEO Brad Grey, former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, PepsiCo chief Dawn Hudson and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

01-03-2007, 02:07 PM	#69
Mavdog Diamond Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 6,014	'This is clearly a dirty trick' BY DAVID SALTONSTALLand BEN SMITH DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007 The fledgling Giuliani presidential campaign charged yesterday that it was the victim of a mysterious "dirty trick" in the theft of the former mayor's political road map for 2008. The astonishing charge threatened to overshadow the candid details in the 140-page strategy guide obtained by the Daily News from a source sympathetic to a rival campaign. "This is clearly a dirty trick," said Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel. "The voters are sick and tired of this kind of thing." Mindel said that while working on the 2006 campaign trail, a Giuliani aide lost a piece of luggage containing the paper. "During one leg of his campaign travel, all luggage was removed from a private plane and later put back on," she said in a statement. "However, one staffer's bag was not returned. "After repeated requests over the course of a few days, the bag was finally returned with the document inside. Because our staffer had custody of this document at all times except for this one occasion, it is clear that the document was removed from the luggage and photocopied." She did not say exactly where or when the strategy paper was lost, or what was in it, but Mindel downplayed its importance, saying it is "simply someone's ideas which were committed to paper over three months ago." Still, the paper outlines personal and political pitfalls for Giuliani and a boldly ambitious fund-raising goal of $100 million for this year. And the depth of detail in the document, as well as the contents - which include a more detailed portrait of Giuliani's financial backers than the campaign has disclosed - belies the notion that the dossier is the stray ramblings of a junior aide. A handwritten memo containing a list of Giuliani's vulnerabilities - from his second and third wives to his private-sector business - appears to have been written by a senior aide with a focus on fund-raising. Personal notes there and elsewhere in the document suggest that the memo, along with much of the contents of the dossier, were prepared by chief fund-raiser Anne Dickerson, a former campaign aide to President Bush who joined Giuliani amid fanfare in May. "Does any of it cause RWG to lose his lustre? confidence?" the memo asked, referring to Giuliani, whose middle name is William, by his initials. "Donors to drop off?" A note written in the margin contained yet another concern: "False comfort with numbers," apparently referring to Giuliani's high poll numbers. The dossier also reveals a wealth of information about where Giuliani plans to raise the $100 million-plus that the fund-raising plan suggests he needs this year. One name appears throughout the document: Paul Singer, a discreet hedge-fund tycoon who has been described as the Republican George Soros. He was one of George Bush's most important financial supporters in 2004, a donor to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and a prominent backer of an anti-affirmative action campaign in Michigan, according to campaign finance and press reports. Singer is listed as heading the campaign's effort to raise cash from hedge-fund donors, and as playing a central role in recruiting other contributors. He also has apparently been given the sensitive task of recruiting family members of victims and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks to Giuliani's campaign. One note in the handwritten memo, apparently a task for Giuliani aide Denny Young, reads: "9/11 groups for PS to contact." Paul Singer is the only member of Giuliani's team with those initials. The dossier also included the invitation list to a Nov. 15 luncheon at the posh '21' restaurant in Manhattan that marked the first real gathering of top supporters of Giuliani's exploratory bid. At the time, Giuliani insiders released the names of only about a half-dozen of the meeting's participants, including Texas oilman Boone Pickens, former California gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, and Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Stars. But the fuller list includes more than 40 names from 25 different states, including Iowa, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and other important presidential battlegrounds. The list suggests that Giuliani has been casting a much wider net than previously disclosed, and sometimes into waters that conservative voters may find troublesome. Among the invitees, for instance, was Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands gambling empire stretches from Nevada to China and has made him the third richest man in the nation, according to Forbes.com. An attached agenda suggests that the group got an overview of Giuliani's presidential finance plan from Dickerson, and a political overview from Giuliani strategists Pat Oxford, Chris Henick and Anthony Carbonetti. Then they adjourned to the Grand Havana Room, one of the few private clubs in the city that still allows smoking. THE SECRET FILES The 140-page dossier obtained by the Daily News reveals both the hopes and the fears of Rudy Giuliani and his aides as the former mayor ponders a run for President in 2008. Some highlights from the memo, apparently compiled at the end of October, include: * A handwritten page listing "problems" that Giuliani could face, among them: His association with disgraced former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik. His breakup with ex-wife Donna Hanover and his marriage to Judith Nathan. His business interests and his views on "social issues," which are decidedly more liberal than most Republicans'. * Giuliani's aides have created an aggressive fund-raising schedule that sets a $100 million to $125 million "baseline" goal for 2007. The plan calls for 250 fund-raising events over the course of the year, including 50 between Feb. 15 and March 31. * Borrowing a page from George W. Bush, Giuliani may categorize his top fund-raisers. Using baseball metaphors, "Team Captains" would bring in $1 million each, MVPs would bring in $200,000 each, All-Stars would bring in $100,000 and Sluggers would raise $50,000. * His personal schedule reveals a man pulled far afield: In a three-month period, Giuliani was to be in 11 countries on four continents. * Notes suggest his aides were more concerned about Giuliani's vulnerability than he would ever let on. "Does any of it cause RWG [Giuliani] to lose his lustre? confidence? Donors to drop off? Drop out of race?" **** The dossier contains a wish-list flow chart of "prospective" key Republican backers. Some have signed onto Giuliani's campaign; others have not committed or have gone to a rival. Joining Team Giuliani: Home Depot founder Ken Langone, hedge fund manager Paul Singer and Texas oilman Boone Pickens. Joining the presidential exploratory committee of rival Republican Sen. John McCain: New Jersey fund-raisers Lew Eisenberg and Larry Bathgate, FedEx CEO Fred Smith and financier Henry Kravis. Uncommitted: Paramount CEO Brad Grey, former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, PepsiCo chief Dawn Hudson and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.