Kevin Drum is unimpressed with the responses of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to Rudy Giuliani's "vote Republican or die" speech; Kevin calls the Democratic candidates' responses "whining." He says:

Whining just reinforces the message that Democrats are wimps. The real way to be "hard hitting" is to explain why Giuliani is wrong and what Democrats would do instead -- and why the average Joe and Jane would be safer and better off without guys like Giuliani bumbling recklessly around the globe leaving a stronger al-Qaeda and a weaker America in their wake. Until they do, Rudy and the Republicans are going to win every round of this fight.

I'd agree -- except for the fact that Americans (at least non-Republican Americans) have already rejected the argument Giuliani is making. It's not 2004; Giuliani isn't going to win by making this argument. My worry is that he's going to win in spite of making it -- he's going to get the votes of red-meat Republicans in the primaries and then win the general election as a "centrist," with the collusion of the press, which will pretend he's a warm, friendly guy you'd love to have a beer with and he's never said anything of this nature.

I don't think you have to rebut an argument like this anymore -- you just have to draw attention to it. Obama and Clinton did.