What a Drag!

[The Candidates] How can it be that so many people are still unaware that Rudy Giuliani not only couch-surfed with a gay couple during his term as NYC mayor, but also has a drag act?

I mentioned this fun fact during a recent editorial discussion and so many people looked surprised and puzzled that I was worried I had gotten my Big Apple mayors mixed up. Maybe it was Bloomberg? Certainly not Dinkins ... although, come to think of it, I've seen a guy at the Trapp who looks suspiciously like Ed Koch in a dress.

The fact that a drag queen has made it so far in the Republican primaries doesn't come up in breathless "the times they are a-changin'" columns nearly as often as Hillary Clinton's sex and Barak Obama's ethnic background. (Frankly, there still seem to be a lot of racist, sexist, intolerant jerks around, so I'll withhold my own verdict on "the times" until Nov. 5.)

Still, for a straight guy, Giuliani's got a decent grasp of camp--so, for me, it's a case of love the sin; hate the sinner. (Brandon Burt)

Lick It Good

[Campaign Mouth] In journalism, we call it "the lede" -- that grabber paragraph or two that pulls you into a story.

The lede in an Oct. 24 story in the New York Daily News demonstrates why we must be careful not to get subjects confused with modifiers:

Touting his accomplishments as mayor Tuesday while on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, [Rudy] Giuliani crowed, "I took a city that was known for pornography and licked it to a large extent, so I have my own set of qualifications."

And a tip of the hat to City Weekly copy editor Brandon Burt. (Holly Mullen)