Last week, Rudy Giuliani interrupted a speech to the NRA in order to chat with his wife on the cell phone:

Most Americans understand it takes an extra chromosome to run for President, but there are some limits on odd behavior. Which makes us wonder what Rudy Giuliani was thinking last Friday when he accepted, and even flaunted, a phone call from his wife Judith in the middle of his speech to the National Rifle Association.

This was no emergency call. His cell phone rang in his pocket during his speech, which is itself unusual; most public officials turn theirs off during events, if only out of courtesy for the audience. Mr. Giuliani went on to answer it and carry on a routine "love you" and "have a safe trip" exchange with Mrs. Giuliani while the crowd (and those of us watching on C-Span) wondered what in the world that was all about.

Ann Althouse called it "a cornball stunt."

And I started this post last week, but forgot all about it (probably my beer-soaked receptors made me want to forget a regrettable incident involving a candidate I like). But this morning, Dr. Helen raised the subject in a new context, asking "Can a guy control the nation if he is controlled by his spouse?" It also comes down to basic etiquette:

....let's give Rudy the benefit of the doubt, and say that he really does love his wife and just wants to talk with her all of the time. That's great for his love life, but where does it leave voters who want to feel that their presidential candidate will listen to them and understands how to set boundaries with others? A good leader sets boundaries, provides his undivided attention to his constituents and sets a good example of a work ethic-so answering the phone to coo with his wife is not exactly going to get him rave reviews in the leadership department.

Maybe what the press secretary says is correct-all of the phone calls are just a way to humanize him in the eyes of voters and show he is just some kind of "family man." Well, that only goes so far and no one seems to be buying it. My money is on the first reason: that his wife is controlling and he goes along with it to keep the peace due to fear or intimidation on his part. Why else would he take 40 phone calls in the middle of speeches that are so important to his career? And if this reason is wrong, then he should prove it by heeding the wisdom of those who tell him to switch his phone to "silent."

I think it's rude to take cell phone calls while meeting or talking with other people, period. Wife or no wife; husband or no husband. If the phone rings, it should be turned off immediately or in those rare occasions when it Absolutely Must Be Answered, the recipient should excuse himself and leave, or else tell the caller quickly "I'll call you back." In front of a group or at a movie or public gathering, it's even worse. (I was on XM Radio last week, and I turned off my cell phone for that very reason.)

While I can't find any link to the story, I well remember when First Lady Hillary Clinton got into trouble years ago at a posh country club. (You know, the kind with rules against all things tacky?) Her cell phone rang, and, being the important woman she was, she answered it the way one might be expected to answer a business call -- as if she were sitting in her office. Eventually, a member of the club's staff came up to her and curtly informed her that talking on cell phones was against the club rules and that she would have to leave.

Over at Newsweek.com, Rudy's inappropriate cell phone behavior is being juxtaposed with not with Hillary's long-forgotten country club call, but with her penchant for outbursts of giggles:

For Clinton, her tendency to burst out in a giggle during some public appearances has generated political tongue-wagging.

The New York senator, often seen as an overly serious candidate, has been showing some personality lately.

She laughed at times during questioning on Sunday morning television shows more than a week ago and then hooted with laughter when asked to respond to a critical comment from a rival candidate at a debate last Wednesday in New Hampshire.

It has become so frequent that Frank Rich, a liberal columnist for The New York Times, said the laugh seemed to be the Clinton campaign's method of heeding complaints that she is "too calculating and controlled" and compared it to Democrat Al Gore's long kiss with his wife Tipper during the Democratic National Convention in 2000.

"Now Mrs. Clinton is erupting in a laugh with all the spontaneity of an alarm clock buzzer," Rich wrote.

Comic Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" last week likened her to a robot with a robotic voice saying, "Humorous remark detected -- prepare for laughter display."

In a typically cryptic remark when he linked the discussion of The Laugh, Glenn Reynolds said,

IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE...

I don't want to devote an entire essay to speculating about precisely what Glenn might have meant by that (it is certainly open to my usual misinterpretations), but I liked The Laugh so much that I'm thinking of installing it as my cell phone ring tone.

That way, I won't attract undue attention if it goes off at a snobbish country club. I'll just blend in. (If it went off unexpectedly, I could even go into full coverup mode and look around quizzically to "see who's laughing.")

And hey, if it went off at at NRA gathering, I could explain to everyone that it's Hillary! (And I could go out of my way to ignore her!)

So, be the first on your block, folks!

Download the "Hillary Clinton Ring Tone" at Drudge today, before it gets worse!

AFTERWORD: After downloading and installing the Hillary Clinton Ring Tone and installed it in my cell phone, I called it from the land line. It sounds great!

Watching the YouTube video of John Stewart's discussion of the ringtone laugh, it became obvious to me that Hillary's Laugh occurred well before Giuliani's gaffe, and that Giuliani had plenty of time to download and install it on his cell phone in advance of the NRA speech.

Had he done that -- had Hillary's laughter emanated from his cell phone instead of whatever boring tone he uses -- I think Giuliani would have been better prepared for the controversy.