Given the probably run of Hillary, I really don't see conservatives swinging the vote over to that side of the aisle. Many conservatives disagree with a lot of Bush's policies, but still voted for him because he was the conservative candidate even if some of his policies, such as No Child Left Behind, left a sour taste in their mouth.
I find it hard to believe that conservatives would stay away in droves on a Giulliani/Rice ticket and tip the balance over to Hillary in '08. The distasteful idea of her in the office, and the conservative ideals in other areas, should make the ticket winnable. If pro-choice/pro-life is the only voting issue and both tickets sit on one side or the other of the issue, you default to other voting criteria. In this case, a lot of pro-lifers would default to other conservative ideals, and the vote should fall Republican in that case.
I think you're underestimating just how seriously many of us take the issue. Its my sole deal breaker...and its not just me.
Yes, but then the Republicans are in the same position the rats were this time: Don't like our candidate enough to be excited, but hate the other candidate enough to vote for ours. We need a candidate we can all be excited about.