Posted on 02/26/2007 1:43:45 AM PST by MadIvan
The former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, took a strong lead in the race to win the Republican party's presidential nomination yesterday.
An opinion poll gave him a 22-point lead on John McCain, the veteran senator and former favourite.
Mr Giuliani was hailed as an American hero for his dignified and unflustered handling of the fraught aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Yesterday that legacy appeared to have caught the imagination of Republican voters.
A poll conducted by Quinnipiac University showed that 40 per cent of them would choose him to succeed President George W Bush next year and lead the campaign against the Democrats.
Senator McCain, 70, took only 18 per cent of the poll, while Mitt Romney, a Mormon and former governor of Massachusetts was on seven per cent.
Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, attracted the support of 10 per cent of Republicans even though he has not declared his candidacy.
A separate survey by the polling firm Rasmussen suggested that if America were voting today for a new president and the contest was between Mr Giuliani and the Democrat contender Senator Hillary Clinton, the former mayor would be heading for the White House.
It was suggested that he would defeat the former First Lady by 53 to 42 per cent.
Mr Giuliani's prospects have been dismissed in the past on account of his support for abortion rights, gay marriage and gun control.
However in the absence of any credible socially conservative candidate, many Christian voters are prepared to set aside their concerns about "America's Mayor", trusting that the leadership qualities he displayed in New York City compensate for his heresies on social issues.
In a move to placate conservative concerns on these issues, Mr Giuliani has recently said that although he is personally "pro-choice" he would nominate conservative "constructionist" judges such as those Mr Bush has appointed to the Supreme Court.
Mr Giuliani's ascent, however, also reflects conservative discomfort with the other major candidates.
Many conservatives have not forgiven Mr McCain for his past breaks with conservative orthodoxy.
His advanced age and hawkish support for pouring more troops into Iraq have the potential to limit his appeal to independent voters.
Mr Romney, for his part, faces questions about his Mormonism and accusations that he is an opportunist, cynically reinventing himself to win support from social conservatives despite the fact that as recently as 2002 he ran as a "pro-choice" candidate in Massachusetts.
Republicans have picked the early front-runner in seven of the past 10 elections.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Hmmm.
Regards, Ivan
Another "name recognition" media hyped poll of people who know nothing more than what they are spoon fed by the MSM.
Regards, Ivan
This is going to be a really fun year reading the daily Rudy battles.
LISTEN IVAN - don't quote the Quinnipiac poll unless you are a leftist liberal.
Its run by a Mr. Carroll, a self professed liberal Democrat with a conservative Republican son who sits in the New Jersey State Assembly.
It has a left-wing liberal agenda and slant as I know personally by having been subjected to its blatantly slanted questions in the past.
You forgot "treasonous."
Polls do consistently show that Giuliani is ahead of the pack - whether Quinnipac or others - just because you do not like this scenario does not mean it does not exist.
Ivan
This is really getting worrying, unless of course the scenario at FR is not duplicated in the Republican Party as a whole. Unity and discipline are going to walk the Republicans through this; particularly now that the Democrats seem bent on fratricide. Replicating their behaviour on the right side of the aisle will undo the gift that has been given.
Regards, Ivan
I don't expect "the scenario at FR" to be duplicated anywhere sane.
Thanks for the ping, Ivan.
I'll check the thread later to see if the "Rudybots are treasonous" faction has shown up.
I know you have been accused of interfering in our politics, however I am interested in your opinions. So, just out of curiousity how is Rudy playing over there, what do people think of him?
One of the things that Londoners lament about Red Ken is that he is a socialist weasel who lacks the strength or ideas to do what Rudy did for New York.
Regards, Ivan
Bizarre that America would elect it's first president ever without any military experience as civilian leader or a member when we are engaged in this war on terror!
Yet the two poll leaders - right now- are both complete virgins.
Though Hillary has slept (allegedly) with the leader of the most powerful military ever so I suppose she will be rated the most knowledgeable...
Right. In the reality of your mind Duncan Hunter leads all contenders by 30%.
The comments about Rudy's ideals and his statements remind me of a segment in Tom Clancey's "Executive Orders" concerning political realities, which I will quote for my fellow freepers:
"Not everybody will like what I say and believe, Arnie, and I'll be damned if I'm going to lie to people just to kiss ass or get votes or whatever."
"You expect everybody to love you?" van Damm asked, sardonic again. "Most Presidents will settle for fifty-one percent. Quite a few have had to settle for less. I tore your head off over your abortion statement--why? Because your statement was confused."
"No, it wasn't, I--"
"You going to listen to your teacher or not?"
"Go ahead," the President said.
"Start off, about forty percent of the people vote Democrat. About forty percent vote Republican. Of those eighty percent, most wouldn't change their votes if Adolf Hitler was running against Abe Lincoln--or against FDR, just to cover both sides."
"But why--"
Exasperation: "Why is the sky blue, Jack? It just is, okay? Even if you can explain why, and I suppose there is a reason some astronomer can explain, the sky is blue, and so let's just accept the fact, okay? That leaves twenty percent of the people who swing back one way or another. Maybe they're the true independents, like you. That twenty percent controls the destiny of the country, and if you want things to happen your way, those are the people you have to reach. Now, here's the funny part. Those twenty percent don't especially care what you think." This conclusion was delivered with a wry smile.
"Wait a minute--"
Arnie held up his hand. "You keep interrupting teacher. The hard eighty percent that votes the party line doesn't care much about character. They vote party because they believe in the philosophy of the party--or because Mom and Dad always voted that way; the reason doesn't really matter. It happens. It's a fact. Deal with it. Now, back to the twenty percent that does matter. They care less about what you believe than they do in you. There is your advantage, Mr. President. Politically speaking, you have as much place in this office as a three-year-old has in a gun shop, but you have character up the ass. That's what we play on."
Ryan frowned at the "play on" part, but this time kept his peace. He nodded for the chief of staff to go on.
"Just tell the people what you believe. Make it simple. Good ideas are expressed simply and efficiently. Make it consistent. That twenty percent wants to believe that you really do believe in what you say. Jack, do you respect a man who says what he believes, even if you disagree with it?"
"Of course, that's what--"
"A man is supposed to do," Arnie said, completing the thought. "So does the twenty percent. They will respect you and support you even though in some cases they disagree with you. Why? Because they will know that you are a man of your word. And they want the occupant of this office to be a man of character and integrity. Because if things go to shit, you can depend on somebody like that to at least try to do the right thing."
"Oh."
"The rest is packaging. And don't disparage packaging and handling, okay? There's nothing wrong about being intelligent about how you get your ideas across. In the book you wrote about Halsey, Fighting Sailor, you chose your words carefully to present your ideas, right?" The President nodded. "So it is with these ideas--hell, these ideas are even more important, and so you have to package them with proportionately greater skill, don't you?" The lesson plan was moving along nicely, the chief of staff thought.
...
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