While Rudy made a name as THE COUNTRY'S MAYOR, for his bravery and calm and steady hand on 9/11 and beyond,he has far too much baggage otherwise.His "broken windows" policies were fantastic,but his sidewalk gates and NO CROSS streets,STINK! And then there are his moderate stances,which either flummox or infuriate some Conservatives all over the nation.He wants to be governor and N.Y. stated needs him in that position.Maybe he will be able to reign in Albany;GOD knows that place needs someone to do it.:-)
And I certainly wouldn't put Rudy G. on the ticket. He is unqualified to lead the Party of Reagan.
One of the failures of Bush--and it may prove to be his fatal failure--is his failure to communicate. The Bush Doctrine is correct, courageous, even brilliant, but Bush never sold it to America. The Bush economic strategy is successful, but Bush doesn't adequately inform America of its success. Bush's rhetorical inadequacy leaves an informational vacuum in the electorate that the Left solicitously fills with its lies.
Cheney could have been the voice of the administration. He speaks lucidly and convincingly, but is rarely allowed to speak. Why is that? The fear, I suppose, is that if Cheney took on that role, it would confirm the Left's claim, which is that he is the one actually running the place.
And so we have one man who cannot communicate his brilliant, courageous policy, and another, who dares not communicate it. This is not a good team. It is a recipe for electoral disaster.
And by the way, the Bush ad, "pessimism never created a job" exemplifies this rhetorical lameness. The message is much too oblique, too soft. What they mean to say, I think, is that Kerry is talking down the economy (and the war) and imperiling us all.
It's time to stop pulling the punches and start telling it like it is. Giuliani would do that.