Free Republic

A Giuliani Fundraising Mailer The Rudy Giuliani Exploratory Cmte. sent out fundraising letters on 2/5. In a letter, Giuliani paints himself as Reagan 2.0, quoting the fmr. pres. as saying "The future belongs to the free." Giuliani: "Today, as Republicans, we need to restore that optimistic spirit to our party and to the national political debate that is shaping the future of this great nation." Giuliani writes that he believes the GOP is the "party of freedom" and then lays out the party platform of low taxes, small gov't, entitlement reform, and school choice, and then lists his GOP record...

'America's mayor' in strong position for '08 With the 2008 race off to a fast start, there have already been some big surprises (Obama, anyone?). But the biggest shocker so far has to be how strong "America's mayor" is running in the polls. The most recent poll has Giuliani leading the Republican field by five points (with 31 percent to John McCain's 26 percent, according to Real Clear Politics). True, it's early. But the numbers do reflect a deep reservoir of support among some GOP primary voters. Giuliani has a few things going in his favor. For starters, he has...

Moves Closer To Full-Fledged Presidential Run (CBS/AP) WASHINGTON -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Monday defended the Iraq war and criticized Al Gore's global-warming movie. As for his presidential ambitions, Giuliani coyly inched closer to a formal announcement. "I am 100 percent committed," he said. "That official part, I still have to do a formal announcement. But we'll figure out how to do that. My idea is that I'm going to try to announce this in 100 different places." Giuliani, a Republican, said he supports efforts to move California's 2008 presidential primary from June to February, a...

Rudy's Run By The Editors Rudy Giuliani is a compelling candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2008. He saved New York City, by restoring law and order and breaking with the disastrous urban liberalism of the 1970s. He will forever be honored for his leadership after the 9/11 attacks. And his effective, no-nonsense management style and straight-talking persona are enormously appealing. Our colleague John Podhoretz is correct when he points out that conservatives want to like Giuliani, and we would add that there is a lot to like. But there are serious obstacles to Giuliani’s winning the embrace...