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Slideshow: 2008 Presidential Hopefuls
Jon Keller
Reporting
(WBZ) BOSTON Giving the little people a chance to face off with "big people" is what makes the New Hampshire primary famous.
Rudy Giuliani is the latest candidate to get caught off guard by a cut-to-the-chase question from a voter.
I spoke with the Derry, New Hampshire woman who brought him up short, and she's feeling the heat for her question.
Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien says she was just curious about the apparent lack of support for their father's candidacy by Giuliani's son and daughter from a previous marriage, but that query and Giuliani's dismissive reply have been the buzz of the political world all weekend.
"I asked him how he'd expect the American people to give him loyal fellowship if he was having a hard time getting it from his own family."
Giuliani's response: "There are complexities in every family in America. The best thing I can say is kind of leave my family alone, just like I'll leave your family alone."
Keller: What did you think of his answer?
Katherine: I thought it was a little defensive. I guess he's still not ready to talk about the whole thing because it's very uncomfortable for him.
And apparently for others, as well. Katherine's question has been criticized by some pundits as inappropriate.
Katherine: When George Stephanopolous said I was a professional heckler, that was crazy, because I don't recall every heckling anybody.
She did once ask then-candidate Al Gore to comment on Bill Clinton's personal misbehavior, a fact that's been used to discredit her.
Keller: You're not a kook or a wacko?
Katherine: I don't think I'm a kook or a wacko.
Keller: You're not a plant by some other campaign?
Katherine: No, this is a plant (pointing to a nearby plant), I'm not a plant.
In fact, Katherine wonders why she had to be the one to raise long-simmering questions about Giuliani's personal character. "I'm very frustrated by the media. I think maybe they want to maintain access, so maybe they're selling their soul for access and not doing their job."
How true. Concerns about Giuliani's temperament are one of the key barriers he faces in his run for president, and stories about his estranged son and Obama-supporting daughter have been out in public for awhile.
It's outrageous Katherine has been taking heat for politely asking about it. And it's testimony to the value in forcing candidates out of their media bubble once in awhile to take blunt questions from fearless voters, New Hampshire style. 
Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien says she was just curious about the apparent lack of support for their father's candidacy by Giuliani's son and daughter from a previous marriage.
CBS
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