'In 2002, the drug maker, Purdue Pharma of Stamford, Conn., hired Mr. Giuliani and his consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, to help stem the controversy about OxyContin. Among Mr. Giuliani's missions was the job of convincing public officials that they could trust Purdue because they could trust him.'

Very tasty story on Rudy today that calls our Rudy for being a two-bit media whore willing to trade on his 9/11 myth.

If you thought Bush was a corporate crony willing to sell out the country, wait till you see Giuliani. We now have confirmed reports that he has taken cash from Hugo Chavez, a sheik who hid and supported Bin Laden, the mob, and the maker of the most abused persciption drug in the US who was looking to avoid extra regulation that would have saved lives at the expense of their profit margin.

One small note on the McCain ascent. Everyone notes that nationally it is basically a bounce from NH. But what everyone misses in NH is that it has nothing to do with Rudy's fall (though most of the new supporters are naturally - as you'll see in a moment - from the Rudy personality cult) or Lieberman. Two weeks ago McCain started running an ad with Curt Schilling - the baseball pitcher and local god - endorsing him.

While I am largely indifferent to the Dem primary race (as far as I can tell they are the same and the battle is over electability and symbolism), Obama may want to take note of this and have Oprah cut some solo spots to air during the daytime soaps rather than wasting her on a political stage and reporters. Frankly, two egos that big clash (why you rarely see Hill and Bill together on a stage).