Fox hosted Giuliani to balance Democratic rebuttal

Following Sen. Jim Webb's (D-VA) response to President Bush's State of the Union address during Fox News' coverage of the January 23 speech, host and Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume said that, given that the audience had "heard a Democratic reaction to the president's comments" from Webb, he was going to solicit "a Republican reaction" from "former mayor of New York City and a current Republican presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani." The Senate website states that "members of the opposition party, usually members of Congress, have provided responses to the annual message, usually in a televised format" since 1982, but does not mention a tradition of rebuttal-rebuttals from members of the president's own party. Giuliani characterized the president's speech as a "very good one" that "did what the president had to do."

According to the White House website, Bush's speech lasted 49 minutes. Webb's response lasted nine minutes. Hume then interviewed Giuliani for five minutes.

From the Fox News' State of the Union coverage on January 23:

HUME: We've now heard a Democratic reaction to the president's comments. Let's get a Republican reaction from none other -- down in the state of Florida tonight -- the former mayor of New York City and a current Republican presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Welcome.

GIULIANI: Good evening. How you doing?

HUME: I'm doing well, thanks. Your thoughts about this speech and this night?

GIULIANI: Well, I thought the speech was a very good one, and I thought it did what the president had to do, which was to get us kind of beyond Iraq, meaning there are a lot of other things we have to concentrate on.

—R.C.