Senator George Allen
Posted on 05/02/2006 9:42:32 AM PDT by Crackingham
Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said on Monday that he was seriously exploring whether he has "a chance" of winning the presidency in 2008, as he visited politically important Iowa and huddled with state advisers, donors to President Bush and other prominent Republicans. While Mr. Giuliani was officially in Iowa to attend two Republican fund-raisers, his behavior and remarks came close to politicking for himself. He ruminated openly about running, disclosed he was not sure what he would do if his friend John McCain also ran, and argued that if Republicans are to be a majority party, they need to accept politicians like himself who support abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.
"I've got a lot of places to go and a lot of people to talk to and a long process of figuring out whether it makes sense to run for president in 2008," Mr. Giuliani said before speaking at a daytime fund-raiser in Des Moines for a Republican congressional candidate. "I don't know the answer to that yet."
He added: "My effort this year will be to help Republicans get elected, and then, quite honestly, as part of it, saying to myself, does it look like I have a chance in 2008? And make that decision after the 2006 election."
At a fund-raiser in Davenport on Monday night, Mr. Giuliani offered a stout defense of President Bush's leadership, arguing that the economy was growing and that Mr. Bush would go down in history as "a great president."
"I don't know what we're all so upset about," he said, referring to concerns about the economy and rising costs, such as gas prices.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Not a chance....next!
And exactly who IS next?
Same NY Times that bashed Rudy as Mayor is now kissing his behind.
Senator George Allen
Come on Rudy - this conservative is a big fan of yours.
Sorry....... but I am ALL for Rudy! This would be excellent news to me.
There are a number who will never support him because of his stance on abortion and gun control.
Serious question for Allen supporters: what is his appeal?
I've seen him speak a number of times recently. While he strikes me as a reasonably pleasant and articulate mainstream Republican, I don't find anything particularly compelling about him. I call him Generic Republican Man. So, for those who are excited about Allen, I'm genuinely curious to know just what it is that has you excited.
I know. But on the flip side, there are many moderates who will vote Republican if it's Rudy.
Sorry, Rudy, but any candidate who can't get the votes of the religious right, the NRA and 2nd Amendment voters, plus the rest of the voters who are at least conservative in regard to economic issues, is a LOSER unless running as a Democrat, which is truly where Guiliani belongs IMO. By rights, Guiliani should do as well as Arlen Specter did when he ran for President as both hold many of the same views with Arlen slightly to the right of Guiliani.
The 'sildent majority' that won the 1972 election was just traditional, decent americans, of which conservatives were a subset.
Same thing in 1984.
Same thing in 2004, except there were fewer of them.
George Allen would be viable if Bush's approval rating were decent. Since they are in the toliet, the GOP needs to look outside the beltway for a viable Presidential candidate.
Alos if the RATS do well in 2006, Hillary will be their nominee. If the GOP maintains Congress, then Hillary will have a tough time in the primaries.
Who do you like? Ironically, I had been favoring Jeb Bush, who I see as by far the most intelligent, articulate and principled conservative in the Bush family, but I've accepted the fact that he's not running this time around. McCain is not reliably conservative, Giuliani doesn't even pretend to be one. Frist - blah. Romney? Big flip-flop on abortion. So who is there?
Well, first I’ll admit that I’m kind of biased because I am from Virginia and Allen is my senator.
The reason that I find Allen appealing is that he is a very strong and principled conservatives among many wavering politicians. Not that Allen hasn’t occasionally wavered on issues, but those are exceptions, not the rule. Allen makes no bones about his conservative values and usually fights exceptionally hard for them. Also, I like the fact that Allen takes seriously the power of ideas, which I think strengthens his commitment to conservatism.
Allen also served as governor of Virginia before he was elected Senator, so he possesses executive leadership experience that most senators lack. When he was governor, he fought hard for important initiatives like abolishing parole and tax cuts.
Finally, I like that Allen exudes positive energy and optimism, encouraging people to think positively about the future and meet challenges head-on. And he’s just an overall decent, likeable guy. Not everyone may share my impression of Allen, but that is my take on him.
Thanks very much for your reasonsed, informative response. It actually makes me see Allen in a more positive light and keep an open mind.
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