An October 4 Washington Post article by staff writers Dan Balz and Jon Cohen reporting on the latest poll numbers for presidential hopefuls noted that Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani “has reveled in taking swipes at [Sen. Hillary Rodham] Clinton [D-NY] in recent weeks and yesterday offered an unflattering comparison of her to 1972 Democratic nominee George S. McGovern.” The article later reported: “Giuliani has made attacks on her a major focus of his campaign. ... The latest came Wednesday, when he attacked her proposal to establish a $5,000 savings account for each child, comparing it derisively to a 1972 proposal by then-Democratic nominee McGovern to give every American $1,000.” Balz and Cohen, however, did not note that Giuliani has said he voted for McGovern in 1972.

By contrast, an October 3 AP article quoted Giuliani as saying, “It's interesting that Hillary is taking something from the George McGovern playbook,” then noted: “In the 1972 election, Giuliani liked McGovern and his ideas enough to vote for him for president.” And in an April 28, 1994, article, Newsday reported that “Giuliani noted that he voted for Nixon's Democratic opponents in the 1968 and 1972 elections, when the mayor was still a registered Democrat.”

In addition, a leaked 1993 “Rudolph W. Giuliani Vulnerability Study” was, as the Los Angeles Times reported, “commissioned by Giuliani's 1993 mayoral campaign and warned of perceptions of a 'weirdness factor' due to his first marriage, to his second cousin.” The study also listed as one possible "charge": “Giuliani is a man without convictions. His political opportunism drove him from McGovern Democrat to Reagan Republican.”

From the October 3 AP article:

Republican Rudy Giuliani compared Hillary Rodham Clinton to 1972 Democratic nominee George McGovern on Wednesday and chided his rival for adding a Southern lilt to her voice as he intensified his criticism.

[...]

“It's interesting that Hillary is taking something from the George McGovern playbook,” Giuliani said in Manchester, N.H., likening her idea to the former South Dakota senator's proposal to send $1,000 to every U.S. resident.

In the 1972 election, Giuliani liked McGovern and his ideas enough to vote for him for president. The liberal lawmaker lost in a landslide to President Nixon.

From the October 4 Washington Post article:

Former president Bill Clinton has emerged as a clear asset in his wife's campaign for the White House, with Americans offering high ratings to his eight years in office and a solid majority saying they would be comfortable with him as first spouse, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

But Americans said they would not regard the election of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as simply the resumption of her husband's presidency. Instead, two-thirds said she would take her presidency in a different direction, and half of all Americans said they believed that would be a good development. About half of those who said it would be a resumption described that as positive.

The survey also showed Hillary Clinton with an early advantage in a matchup of the party front-runners. A majority of those polled support her over former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has reveled in taking swipes at Clinton in recent weeks and yesterday offered an unflattering comparison of her to 1972 Democratic nominee George S. McGovern.

[...]

While neither Clinton nor Giuliani can yet claim their respective nominations, Giuliani has made attacks on her a major focus of his campaign, as if to show Republicans that he hungers for a general-election contest against her. The latest came Wednesday, when he attacked her proposal to establish a $5,000 savings account for each child, comparing it derisively to a 1972 proposal by then-Democratic nominee McGovern to give every American $1,000.