WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Leading GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani spoke to representatives of the coal industry at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser Friday at The Greenbrier, saying, “We have to increase our reliance on coal” in the future.

The breakfast fundraiser coincided with the annual meeting of the West Virginia Coal Association where Giuliani told supporters about his coal background.

“I was once in the coal business for a short period of time,” the presidential hopeful said at a news conference after the fundraiser. “I ran a company that had coal mines in Hazard, Ky., so we were able to share stories about the coal industry and some of the struggles it faces and the need for clean coal and carbon sequestration ...”

Giuliani said the U.S. would be “better off if we could rely somewhat more on our coal reserves which are greater (in number) than the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia.”

“There’s a real opportunity here to expand our economy and take advantage of the global economy by selling energy independence to others,” he said. “And as a matter of national security to put ourselves in a position where we don’t have to rely so much on oil from other parts of the world.

“One of my 12 commitments to the American people is to make our country energy independent and coal plays a big role in that.”

Giuliani also said he supported coal-to-fuel synthesis which could be “a very valuable contributor to energy independence.”

The candidate spent the majority of his time bashing Democrats on their policies in Iraq and also took a swipe at their leading presidential candidates.

“I think the American people will have big questions as to whether they will elect anyone who has never had any direct executive experience,” Giuliani, who was the mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, said. “Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards share several things in common and one of those things is that they have never run anything. They have never run a city, never run a state and never run a business.”

The former federal prosecutor said his experience with “Islamic terrorism” puts him at a unique advantage over the rest of the field of candidates.

“From my background with the Justice Department and as mayor of New York City, I have an understanding that we have to be on the offense against Islamic terrorism,” he said. “We should be talking about success in Iraq ... rather than legislating laws, which may play into public opinion polls, but I think will really hurt us in the war on terror.”

When asked how a President Giuliani would differ from President Bush in running the Iraq War, the candidate said there would be differences and similarities.

“As far as style — how you learn from your mistakes,” he said. “Sure there would be some differences.”

Giuliani said he expects to win West Virginia’s GOP primary next May and plans to visit the state again.

“We believe we can win West Virginia both in the primary phase and the general election,” he said. “West Virginia is a state I have been to many times and we intend to come back during the primary and season and general election.”



Christian Giggenbach writes for The Register-Herald in Beckley, W.Va.