Posted on 07/07/2006 7:32:14 AM PDT by chiller
Twenty-eight months to go, and I can't wait.
( edit )
Since Condi insists she isn't interested - and for the moment I believe her - speculation ranges from base-pleasing Republicans like Sens. Bill Frist, Sam Brownback and my current favorite, George Allen, to the intriguing prospects of envelope-pushers like John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
And these two intriguing figures constitute my point of the day. There are two things I have stopped saying: first, Mr. McCain can't win, and second, Rudy won't run.
I still don't believe Mr. McCain will be the '08 nominee, but his loyal support for the war has healed some distaste that the GOP base has had for him since he challenged Mr. Bush six years ago. His disconnect with many Republicans on overhauling campaign finance is still an anvil around his prospects, but I can no longer write him off.
As for Mr. Giuliani, I used to say that he won't run and couldn't win if he did. The gay-friendly, abortion-rights-supporting ex-New York mayor whose legacy includes an embrace of gun control? It would seem highly unlikely.
Unless you were in a room with me at the Hotel Crescent Court last month as the Dallas County Republican Party welcomed Mr. Giuliani to a fundraiser also heralding local congressional candidates.
I served as master of ceremonies, and there was a thoroughly polite welcome for the GOP primary survivors who will try to unseat Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Chet Edwards.
But it was Mr. Giuliani who put a room of Reagan-loving red-staters into a positive swoon.
He did it with steadfast support for the Bush war doctrine, coupled with a passion for tight borders that even the still-admired incumbent cannot muster. He did it with strong fiscal conservatism, another Bush weakness. And he did it with a passionate pitch for school choice, an issue Republicans have neglected - mysteriously, since scads of Republicans and Democrats want it.
His content was great. His style was even better. His sharp wit and off-the-cuff comfort are miles beyond the average glazed, scripted politician. He sports a good-natured partisan streak that puts him a head above Mr. McCain, who seems to gag on any sentence suggesting that a Democrat might be wrong.
This is not my prediction that Mr. Giuliani's hand will rest on a Bible at the swearing-in on Jan. 20, 2009. But the Bible-embracing core of the GOP shows a willingness to consider him as he includes evangelical groups in his curious tour of various Republican constituencies.
He will not launch a national gun grab, leaving gun statutes to the cities. He will not push for nationwide gay marriage, happy to leave those decisions to the states, where the Constitution says they belong. He will not pound the bully pulpit for affirmative action, leaving that to the courts.
And speaking of the courts, he speaks glowingly of Mr. Bush's Supreme Court selections, Samuel Alito and John Roberts, suggesting he does not necessarily dream of packing the court with sure-fire abortion-rights opponents.
Throw in the tasty imagery of the Mayor of America wiping the debate stage floor with Mrs. Clinton or virtually anyone else, and it's the kind of thing to make a Republican heart quicken.
I don't know yet whether I can be a Rudy voter, but I'd enjoy watching him try to make me one.
Mark Davis is a columnist for the Dallas Morning News. The Mark Davis Show is heard weekdays nationwide on the ABC Radio Network. His e-mail address is mdavis@wbap.com.
This is where you are absolutely wrong. A presidential campaign is the wrong place for us to learn that being the mayor of a major U.S. city in the Northeast -- and a hotbed of radical Marxism in the U.S. if there ever was one -- does absolutely nothing to prepare someone to be a credible candidate on a national level. Showing great leadership in cleaning up New York City is sort of like being able to stand up and make a credible claim that you are the best plumber in the history of mankind. Everyone wants to have you around, but only when the toilets are overflowing and there are "chocolate bars" floating around in the basement.
This entire discussion is academic, since Giuliani has no intention of running in 2008. I suspect a lot of folks here are going to be very disappointed when they finally figure out that this whole charade was nothing more than a self-promoting racket on his part.
Saved for future ref.
(Pass Jameison a fork, Liz. He'll be needing it)
No.
Never.
Not in a pig's eye.
Forget it.
Get over it.
This phoney, anti-gun, pro-gay, liberal northeastern pseudo-Republican will NEVER be elected Presdient - unless he changes parties and runs as a Democrat. THEN, he might have a chance since he IS as much a Democrat as that OTHER phoney "Republican" Mike Bloomburg.
In that race, Warner carries 1 state...his own, maybe.
I agree with you. If it does come down to him, we'll finally see how much power the Religious Right really does have in the Party. It's amazing to me that there are those here who would rather Hillary win than Rudy.
If he doesn't run, he doesn't run. It will be the Nation's loss.
I expect if he doesn't run, there will be more disappointment here then even you currently imagine.
Particularly on a January day in 2009, when a Democrat is sworn...and later.
No state is more purple than Ohio, but Taft couldn't get elected dog catcher and if Blackwell wins he will be too new to be a candidate.
If there's someone out there that fits the bill, speak up! Otherwise it will very likely come down to Rudy v. McCain which is not exactly a broad set of choices IMHO.
Rudy is not in denial I believe you are - PROOF IS IN THE POLLS! Southern, Mid West and the NorthEast - whereever there is a poll Rudy comes out on top. And this has been going on for more than a year now. If he keeps this momentum you will be snickering at Rudy's Presidential Inauguration! The so-called conservatives that are thrown around as good candidate like Allen can't even poll out of the single digits.
"George Allen was a governor before he ran for the U.S. Senate. Virginia has a very restrictive term limits law that prohibits anyone from serving more than ONE consecutive term."
Yep, appointed to the House, elected Governor and the Senate - then made National Republican Senatorial Committee chair in his first term - pretty impressive.
"What you should be doing, is asking yourself what you are smoking."
If Bush had been perceived to be the moderate globalist that he is,
many conservatives would have stayed home.
In case you don't know it, Bush beat Gore by the skin of his teeth.
Without Christian conservatives, and I mean true conservatives,
coming out in droves for Bush, Gore would have won easily.
As it was he won the popular vote.
In case you are unaware of that also.
I stand corrected on Allen.
Hey, if Allen can get traction and win the nomination, more power to him. I just think he starts off behind Rudy in several practical areas like name recognition and ability to raise money.
>>If there's someone out there that fits the bill, speak up! Otherwise it will very likely come down to Rudy v. McCain which is not exactly a broad set of choices IMHO.<<
Unfortunately its easier to point out weaknesses of the current candidates than to find an unassailable candidate.
Example of Rudy's "leadership" (sarcasm).
Mayor Rudy hired Bill Bratton as NYC Police Commissioner. Bratton proceeded to clean up the city and reduced crime. In the process, Bratton became a media darling, and all the beautiful people were lionizing him. That's when paranoid Rudy fired him, and drove him out of the limelight in an unconscionable, needless bloodbath. Bratton was shell-shocked at the depths of Rudy's duplicity.
Nobody but Rudy is allowed to get credit for anything. God only knows what he'd do with presidential power.
Power-obsessed Rudy always does what's in Rudy's best interests as when RINO Rudy endorsed and campaigned for liberal Democrab Mario Cuomo for Governor b/c Rudy wanted a Dim in Albany to further his own ambitions to be governor.
Rudy has little or no credibility, and certainly no principles.
By election day he will. I'd say that right now he is as well known as GWB when the latter was gov. of Texas.
And I do care about Christian values...but it's not the most important thing to me in a President. And that's me being honest.
What I implied. And I appreciate your honesty. It's why you are a favorite of mine here despite our differences.
>>If Bush had been perceived to be the moderate globalist that he is,
many conservatives would have stayed home.<<
I'm not convinced of that - a vote in the middle is worth two votes on the edge because the vote in the middle also takes away a vote from the opponant.
Hildy, that is not true and you know it. None of us "would rather Hillary win", but we will not be led to vote against our consciences, morals and ethics.
How about if I would say, "it's amazing that the G.O.P. would nominate Rudy, knowing full well millions of people will never vote for him, thus assuring Hillary a victory".
And do not doubt, not for even a second, how prolific and influential the Christian Right are.
Great! I hope he can get the elites behind him.
Maybe he can convince them he's a globalist?
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