“I do not believe, and I know this is a terrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the President loves America.  He doesn\’t love you and he doesn\’t love me.  He wasn\’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country:  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Strong words.  Hard, provocative words.  Guaranteed to enrage Democrats and (therefore) the preponderance of what passes these days as mainstream media.

So:  is there any validity to what Mr. Giuliani said, why did he say it, and what will the fallout be?

Let\’s take them one at a time.

Is there any validity to what Mr. Giuliani said? 

Since the comment itself is subjective, there doesn\’t have to be.  This is the United States of America and Mr. Giuliani – along with you, me and everyone else – is entitled to his opinion. 

But on the objective side – i.e. actual events that could validate or invalidate Mr. Giuliani\’s position – there is a lot to talk about:

-The validating events would include the fact that, unless your father was a Kenyan national, your stepfather was an Indonesian national, and you spent four years growing up in Indonesia in a school where your parents classified you as a Muslim, Mr. Obama grew up differently than you did.  Add to that the ongoing instances of Barack Obama, as President, telling country after country what we did wrong and essentially apologizing for our actions – even to countries which owe the world one helluva lot more apologies than we ever could have any reason to – and you\’ve got plenty of ammunition.

-The invalidating events, would include the benefits for the USA which people might perceive as the results of President Obama\’s actions, and the countless times Mr. Obama has talked up the United States, referred to it as a force for good and said “God Bless the United States” to audiences big and small. 

Conclusion?  Though Mr. Giuliani\’s words may be harsh – overly harsh if you ask me – there is a case to be made for saying them.

Why did he say it?

No one except Rudy Giuliani can possibly answer that for certain.  It could be because he believes every word of what he said.  It could be because he is a partisan Republican on the attack.  It could be to force politicians on both sides of the aisle to take a public on-the-record stand regarding what they think of Barack Obama\’s attitude toward the USA – and then have to give their reasons.  It could be a combination of all three.  It could be other possible reasons I\’m not thinking of.

Conclusion:  whatever his reasons, the issue of Mr. Obama\’s regard for the USA has immediately become a major front-burner issue.  If that was Rudy Giuliani\’s intention, he got exactly what he wanted.

What will the fallout be?

For Rudy Giuliani there will be no fallout at all.  He is not currently running for any office and appears to be entirely out of elective politics. 

But for both Democrat and Republican presidential aspirants, who, as a matter of course, will have to reference the Obama presidency in the 2016 campaign, it – as noted above – forces them to take a stand on Mr. Obama – not just on his actions per se, but on his intentions when taking those actions. 

His refusal to indict radical Islam, his position on illegal aliens, his summary recognition of Cuba, the proposed Iran “deal”, his treatment of Israel, etc. are all on the list).  And every one of them will now be judged through the prism of President Obama\’s love of country.

If Mr. Obama comes out negatively, it will hurt Democrats and help Republicans.  If he comes out positively it will help Democrats and hurt Republicans.  That is a roulette wheel which is currently spinning…and where the little ball lands can have a significant impact on who our next President will be.

I don\’t know if Rudy Giuliani considered the possibility that his comment had the potential to recalibrate the way Barack Obama\’s presidency will be judged…and the benefit or damage presidential aspirants sustain for the way they judge it…but that is very likely what will happen because he said what he did.

It will be more than a little interesting to see how this plays out.