Rudy Giuliani has never had good relations with the press. He berates journalists, questioning their intelligence and their motives at every turn, and flatly refuses to answer questions if he thinks they are somehow beneath him. But with poll numbers slipping a bit, Giuliani has to deal with one journo, and it's the most difficult one of all: NBC's Tim Russert.

Giuliani will appear on Russert's "Meet the Press" this Sunday, and the New York Sun reports that some in the Giuliani campaign think they have to use the event as a "firewall" to stem the tide of two awful weeks.

But given Russert's habit of eviscerating anyone and everyone on his set, is Meet really the venue in which Rudy wants to make his stand? Witness Bill Richardson's performance some months back; many who watched had to turn it off so as not to watch the carnage. And Russert will almost certainly take after Giuliani on a topic on which he flayed Richardson: Which is he, a Yankee fan or a Red Sox fan?

Unlike other media, Russert does not take no for an answer. He will probe Giuliani's record. He will prod Giuliani's personal life for hypocrisy. He will, in short, bring every viewer's attention to every flaw Giuliani has ever had. Granted, the mayor might need to fix his image a bit, reset the campaign and stand up a little straighter, but he might be better off by declaring that he's a Mormon and giving a speech at Texas A&M University.

The show gives candidates a major upside: Anything other than utter defeat is a victory. If Russert can't get his claws in deep enough, the candidate wins and gets a victory lap of positive media attention. But, as one might expect, a victory is rare. For a candidate like Giuliani, more used to tabloid journalism in New York than wonk-fests in Washington, the show is a big gamble. Meet the Press? Might as well call it Waterloo.