A little over a decade ago I spent a sojourn in New Jersey working on a presidential campaign. It was my one immersion in “Yankee Culture.”

The first time I saw a true-blue, street-smart, dyed in the wool Yankee politician in action it was pretty impressive. I remember a reporter asking him a tough question, something like, “Is it true your brother-in-law’s construction company got the contract to build the new sewer system on Long Island without a bid?”

The politician reared back, a deadly earnestness came into his eyes; then he leaned forward and said bluntly, Let me set you straight on that. His whole demeanor oozed candor with a bluntness and defiance that said, “I’ve got nothing to hide.” When he finished talking you couldn’t help but believe him – the first time you saw it happen. But, later, the third or fourth time I saw it happen (with a different politician each time), I realized I was watching the Yankee equivalent of the good ole southern boy politician, leaning back, snapping his suspenders, grinning, and saying, Well, I’m just a simple country lawyer.

I saw Rudy Giuliani on TV this weekend. When the interviewer asked him a tough question about his stand on gay rights and tax-funded abortions – it was ‘déjà vu all over again!’

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