Posted on 03/07/2007 10:27:26 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, March 7 — When Republicans say they are skeptical that Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, can survive their party’s presidential nominating process, they usually point to his record of support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.
But there may be a less obvious hurdle that Mr. Giuliani has to overcome: Whether he is too much of a New Yorker for the rest of the country.
Americans like New York City, as officials in both parties are quick to say. Most find it vibrant, entertaining and an object of sympathy and pride since the terrorist attacks five and a half years ago that made Mr. Giuliani the national contender he is today.
But the city, with all its tumult and rough edges, is not for everyone. And few people embody all the complicated facets of New York City as much as Mr. Giuliani.
He is swaggering, brash and opinionated and loves to stick his thumb in the eye of conventional political norms. Those traits won him some acclaim in New York, not to mention a lot of tabloid headlines. But he can also be temperamental, controlling, capricious, volatile and, in the words of Edward I. Koch, a former Democratic mayor who supported Mr. Giuliani in his successful bid for a second term, “mean-spirited.”
New Yorkers who elected him twice as their mayor tend to view what others might call rudeness as an endearing trait. But beyond conservative unease with his positions on social issues, two of the biggest questions about Mr. Giuliani’s presidential campaign are whether the same qualities that made him iconic in New York will play as well in the rest of the country, and whether voters elsewhere will exhibit the same tolerance as New Yorkers did toward the more colorful aspects...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
One's his last wedding day. The other he's dressed in drag with Julie Andrews. He'll play in the Borscht Belt. I don't know about the Bible Belt.
Wow! I never heard about that before.
Who cares? He's now "America's Mayor," not "New York's Mayor."
Seems like the more that anti-Rooties post those pictures of him in drag, Rudy's poll numbers go up. What's with that?
"I never heard about that before."
You don't get out much, huh?
Did you know he's been divorced also?
Holy J. Edgar Hoover! Doesn't he know that shade of lipstick with a pink gown makes him look cheap?
It appears that enlarging too many pics in their own window will interfere with copying the URLs of those pics. After closing the window of that first pic, you see the results.
Wow! I never heard about that before.
LOL - Nice to see you back!
I have to say I really didn't think things would have changed much. Boy was I surprised.
When did Rudy Guliani take over the mantle of most hated from the President?
::: swish :::
What, are you subbing for Ann Coulter?
"When did Rudy Guliani take over the mantle of most hated from the President?"
We don't hate Rudy, we love our country, and don't want it to be ruined.
If you run a liberal against a liberal, you will end up with a LIBERAL!
I imagine that supporters of every candidate out there thinks the same thing.
Well GW is on the way out and Rudy may be on the way in. They think they're cutting their losses(s).
And Rudy is so flawed - the guy even admits to making mistakes in his life. I mean compared to the level of perfection we see displayed here every day - you can see that a flawed human being is just not acceptable(s).
But most of us are conservatives on FR, and conservatives are smart and RIGHT.
Rudy is just the OPPOSITE of conservative....
Culture of life:
ABC clip:
George Will: "Do you think Roe v Wade was good constitutional law?"
Rudy Giuliani: "Yes I believe, I believe it is."
Cnn Clip:
Announcer: "Giuliani was then asked whether he supports a ban on what critics call partial birth abortions, something Bush strongly supports."
Rudy Giuliani : "No, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing."
Immigration
CNN clip:
Announcer: "Back in 1996, mayor Giuliani went to federal court to challenge new federal laws requiring the city to inform the federal government about illegal immigrants."
Rudy Giuliani: "There isn't a mayor or a public official in this country that's more strongly pro immigrant than I am. Including disagreeing with President Clinton when he signed an anti-immigration legislation about two or three years ago."
Gun control:
CNN clip
Rudy Giuliani: "I'm in favor of gun control"
Meet The Press:
Tim Russert: "How about registration of all handguns?"
Rudy Giuliani: "You know I'm in favor of that. I've been on your show many times."
Gay Rights:
CNN Clip:
Announcer: "As mayor he supported civil unions, and extending health and other benefits to gay couples."
ABC Clip: "I supported domestic partnership legislation and signed it"
Meet The Press:
Tim Russert: "So should gay people be openly allowed to serve?"
"I think people should be judged on the merits. And there should not be a specific focus on someone's sexual orientation."
First Amendment:
ABC Clip
Cokie Roberts: "Would you vote in the senate in favor of Mccain / Feingold?"
Rudy Giuliani: "Yes, I'm a big supporter of Mccain / Feingold. I have been for a long time."
Party Loyalty:
ABC Clip:
Rudy Giuliani: "Frankly George, I'd like to run on all the lines. I'd like to run on the liberal line, the conservative line, I'd like to run on the democratic line if I could figure out how to do it."
Conservative Values:
Meet The Press:
Tim Russert: "Whether it's gays in the military, gun control, campaign finance, late term abortion - you and Hillary Clinton are in sync on those issues."
Rudy Giuliani: "Well then maybe the other side should stop the 'He's part of the vast right wing conspiracy'."
....
See Rudy for yourself on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVBtPIrEleM
You might as well be making your sarcastic point about Hillary. She can't be too liberal for you or too "flawed". Sheesh!
He isn't my mayor and he won't be my president either
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.