Posted on 01/25/2007 8:32:31 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani's star has hardly dimmed in the five years since terrorists attacked his city on Sept. 11, 2001, and he became a national hero _ the face of U.S. resolve at a time of tragedy.
The Republican dubbed "America's Mayor" hopes to ride that celebrity and his record at City Hall to the White House by emphasizing his leadership skills and embracing the strong-on-security, limited-government tenets of the GOP.
"If he can handle the scrutiny, and if events break his way, sure, he can win," said Fred Siegel, who wrote a Giuliani biography, "The Prince of the City."
Giuliani's quest to capture his party's presidential nomination won't be easy.
He's a moderate Republican from New York City, on the wrong side of social issues in the eyes of hard-core conservatives who are a crucial voting bloc in the primaries. His mayoral tenure was marked by criticism of an overzealous police force. He's linked to the city's scandal-plagued ex-police chief Bernard Kerik. His thicket of business interests could pose conflicts. He's been divorced twice.
"I sure have strengths and weaknesses," Giuliani said recently. "I think that sort of puts me in the same category as just about everybody else that's running. Are my strengths greater or my weaknesses worse? I don't know. You have to sort of examine that. That won't be the issue."
His challenge will be to remind voters of his take-charge attitude on Sept. 11 and his two-term mayoral reign, at the same time his main rivals _ Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney _ no doubt will try to exploit his background and record. For now, both are trying to gauge how much of a threat he may be.
Giuliani, who formed a presidential exploratory committee last year, is betting that the Republican rank-and-file will look past his liabilities. His aides dismiss skeptics who say he has too many flaws to win over primary voters a year from now.
"I believe they'll look at the picture as a whole," said Tony Carbonetti, Giuliani's longtime political adviser. "This (New York) was an unmanageable city, and I think what people want today is a manager, someone to lead in difficult times and to lead in not-difficult times.
"We're going to continue to tell that story," he said.
Before Sept. 11, Giuliani was known as the hard-charging prosecutor-turned-politician who cleaned up Times Square, led the city out of fiscal despair and brought Republican rule back to the liberal mecca.
Giuliani, of course, made enemies in the process, but on Sept. 11 even his chronic critics were muted when he took charge amid the rubble of the World Trade Center's twin towers. To many, he became a picture of strength, a reminder of the resilience of the American spirit.
"He has a connection to that. He is unique. On the other hand you look at the politics and you say this is a problem," said Alex Vogel, a Republican strategist in Washington who is not affiliated with any presidential candidate.
"The question is: Can you win a Republican primary a different way? History keeps saying no. But history has never presented us with someone whose favorability numbers are as high as Rudy's."
Indeed, national polls have consistently shown him leading for the GOP nomination, and early surveys in key states show him ahead or competitive. He travels to one important state, New Hampshire, this weekend where he will give the keynote address at the state GOP's annual meeting.
For all the hype since 2001, Giuliani didn't start preparing for a presidential run in earnest until after November's elections. Thus, he has lagged behind McCain and Romney in courting fundraisers, setting up a national organization and hiring ground operatives in key states, although he has made progress on all fronts recently.
Giuliani's aides insist they're making strides toward filling out his campaign. They say he can raise the $80 million to $100 million necessary this year for a serious run. Name recognition, obviously, isn't an issue.
Neither, his supporters argue, is likability. They say he appeals to people across the political spectrum and in every region of the country, meaning he could expand the general election playing field. That, his backers say, makes him the Republican most likely to beat the presumptive Democratic front-runner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Perhaps.
But first he has to capture the GOP nomination _ and the big question is whether he can win over enough Republicans in states like Iowa and South Carolina, among the first nominating contests where voters are solid conservatives and could be turned off by his stance on social issues.
"Giuliani is going to have to convince people that he's more conservative than his record otherwise would suggest," said Peverill Squire, who teaches politics at the University of Iowa.
The former mayor's support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control conflict with the hard-line positions of the GOP's right. His supporters say he's not as liberal on those issues as he's made out to be. Still, he's from New York _ and that alone rankles the party's conservative wing.
Despite that, Giuliani's backers contend _ and some Republican strategists agree _ that he could get support from fiscal conservatives because of his record of cutting taxes, curbing spending and promoting small government, particularly now when the base is smarting over the soaring federal deficit under Republicans.
And, with the country still at war, his link to Sept. 11 _ the brand of a strong leader _ could trump the base's concerns about his background and stand on social issues.
"Giuliani's national security credentials will allow him to span ideological divides in the Republican Party and win conservative votes," said Greg Strimple, a GOP strategist in New York who is neutral in the race.
Unknown is whether Giuliani can woo enough of those base Republican voters to win the nomination and, if not, whether he can make up the difference by attracting independents and Democrats.
"His opening could come if people really think that somebody like Hillary is running away with it, and if there's a perception that only Giuliani can beat her," said John Truscott, an unaffiliated Republican strategist in Michigan.
Another factor that could help Giuliani is how the primary calendar shakes out.
New Hampshire and Michigan hold early contests, and New Jersey, California, Illinois, Florida and other states viewed as more hospitable to a moderate may schedule their votes earlier in the year, perhaps lessening the importance of a strong showing for Giuliani in Iowa and South Carolina.
For all the obstacles, even folks with ties to Giuliani's opponents can't deny that the New Yorker has a shot.
Said Ken Khachigian of California, who served as a strategist for President Reagan and was with McCain in 2000: "I would never sell Giuliani short."
He *lead* after Katrina - like Rudy did after 9/11! And inspiring guy.
CA? Well - it's a pretty place(s) - we have a lot of x-Californians here now.
You think Rudy is a tough sell to Conservatives? Wait until you see what we do with Hillary!
CA is my home state and I have family and real estate there. I'm in MS the majority of the year.
You know, my memory is a bit rusty, but didn't liberal Rudy talk President Bush into appointing corrupt crony Bernie Kerik to head the Department of Homeland Security? Whatever happened with that nomination? Hmmmmmm....
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who withdrew as President George W. Bush's nominee for U.S. secretary of homeland security 11 days ago, resigned from former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's consulting firms.
Kerik, addressing reporters today in Manhattan, said he quit ``in the best interests of my family, my colleagues'' and the clients of Giuliani Partners LLC and its Giuliani-Kerik security- consulting affiliate. ``I plan to take some time off to focus on my family and the things that have to be focused on at this point, and to clear my good name,'' he said.
Giuliani, in a separate news conference outside his offices at Times Square, said he hadn't asked Kerik to resign. Giuliani, who has spoken of possibly returning to politics and has been touted by admirers as a 2008 presidential candidate, said last week he apologized to the White House for his role in pushing Kerik for the Homeland Security job.
Well, of course my point, while attempting humor, was, of course, I am hoping for a genuine conservative who can win.
Failing that, any alternative to Hillary will get my vote, cuz I KNOW what she represents. Not just some things I don't like or agree with, but an entire agenda whose only purpose is to weaken America and convince people once and for all that the American dream is not only not attainable, it is naive and even selfish to believe in it.
Unable to defeat us militarily, they have set upon our national pride, by undercutting our foundations of religious, moral and ethical principles to the extent that a large portion of the population is literally unable to distinguish between good and evil.
They have infested our once great universities, turning them into re-education camps that teach a version of history that causes revulsion, not pride in the legacy of the founders.
They have used the tactics of multiculturalism to divide us into ever more "diverse" groups of "need mores" demanding from government what "want mores" used to join the melting pot to achieve for themselves.
They smugly and methodically shape perception into reality through the great propaganda machine that was once a trusted free press.
All to the point of creating an America that none will be willing to defend and all will hope to see fall.
This is what we face.
She, more than anyone in our history, is the political face of that effort.
Any who would sit home in a snit over perceived or actual shortcomings in ANY candidate who opposes her, in my opinion, plays a pawns role in the process.
Rant over.
Never understood the fascination with Keyes. My initial impression was he was a pompous ass and a bombastic conman. His alledged "oratorial brilliance" sounded like a mix of ardent pedant and carnival barker to me.
Wait a minute. So, does that mean that Rudy Giuliani put promoting a crony to be the head of the critical Department of Homeland Security ahead of actually securing this nation after the 9/11 attacks and during a time of war? But...but...but we've been told how much of a warhawk, pro-national security candidate Rudy is. How could that be?
By the way... Have you read my tagline yet? Who do you think that is about? Hmmmmmmmmmmm???
He was and is. He jumped the shark when he appeared to support reparations v Obama. But his supporters still hold the torch.
Exactly. He was absolutely wonderful during those dark days...people won't forget that.
I know I won't forget....and would gladly vote for him.
Old quotes from the Nation ,is that the best you can come up with?
Go ahead and vote for Hillary. The democrat will carry your state regardless.
Do you need her website address? She could use volunteers like you. You're doing her a great favor thses days.
There are two wings of the Conservative Movement. The Culture warriors and the Traditionalists. The Culture warriors went belly up during the midterms and the Traditionalists have taken the wheel. Out with the firebreathers and in with the pragmatists. Failure doesn't get reinforced.
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