New York Label May Not Fit All in Giuliani Run

NY Times ^ | March 8, 2007 | ADAM NAGOURNEY

[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...

[presently no screen name]

Abortion and Gays? Two issues that the president has little ability to effect?

Exactly!

[KDD]

You really want to win the White House Hillary?

OK. Here's the plan.

[Doofer]

I agree that Rudy is a liberal when it comes to social issues but why in the world did he run for the Mayor of New York City as a Republican instead of a Democrat?

Doesn't make political sense to me if he's really a died in the wool liberal as some claim.

[conservative in nyc]

Kerry won New York City by 73.82% to 22.76% for Bush.

Which proves zeroisanumber's point perfectly. Do you know how many NYC residents voted for President Bush in 2004? 587,000. More people than live in the entire state of Wyoming. And more people than voted for the President in small to mid-size red states like Arkansas, Nebraska and Nevada.

Getting back to the original article, do people think Giuliani's blunt style will turn off voters? McCain did well early on in 2000 because he was a supposed straight talker. But he faded in the end. Does America want that type of personality in the White House?

[gpapa]

Can you say SCOTUS.

[gpapa]

Your assuming Rudy will win New York State's electoral votes I suppose. The winner takes all ya know.

[NapkinUser]

He's now "America's Mayor," not "New York's Mayor."

Really? I don't seem to recall that election.

Talk about "selected, not elected".

[conservative in nyc]

Your assuming Rudy will win New York State's electoral votes I suppose. The winner takes all ya know.

I'm not assuming anything about Rudy - that he will win the Republican nomination or New York State in a general election. I think it's far too early to make state-by-state predictions were Rudy to win the primary, especially when we don't even know who the Democrat nominee will be.

The only thing I was commenting on was Zeroisanumber's statement "New York is too big and encompasses too much to be brushed off as "liberal"." There are many, many liberals in NYC, but there are also a lot of Republicans and even conservatives. More people voted for Bush in NYC proper than Arkansas. And if I were to tally the numbers for the NYC metro area, I suspect I'd find that more people voted for Bush in the metro than in all but a handful of states. Unfortunately, we're outnumbered by liberals here.

[skr]

How is NYC not liberal?!

[NapkinUser]

"Do you know how many NYC residents voted for President Bush in 2004? 587,000. More people than live in the entire state of Wyoming."

Oh, that's just sad. That is only because of New York's population. California has millions of republicans, but it means diddly if democrats outnumber you so badly. The vast majority of New York city hates Bush, conservatism and all that stuff.

"LOL! I'm sure that makes Newt, Duncan and Tom feel much better."

There you go again. You always rant against conservatives like Gingrich, Hunter and Tancredo while at the same time cheerleading for leftist republicans. It's quite sad.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Speaker Gingrich isn't running for POTUS.

[airborne]

Here's an interesting thread on Rudy.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1796743/posts

Not many Rudy supporters either. I wonder why?

[tkathy]

After years of wussie utterances of turn the other cheek, islam is a religion of peace and love, from GWB, it's precisely the ripping new ones of Rudy that I like.

[azhenfud]

"Two issues that the president has little ability to effect?"

In the elections of 2002 and 2004, many on FR said one's vote should be cast with consideration of who'll be influencing Supreme Court nominees. Significant emphasis was placed upon the socially conservative candidate who'd "shape the court" and make other judicial appointments. "It's the courts!", was the mantra hailed most important.

It seems strange that same influence upon the judiciary is now of no particular importance since the Executive nominee may shamefully defy all 2004 wisdom and violate every Republican plank and that cabdidate also is a proven liberal in courts appointees.

My, how we've progressed...

[James W. Fannin]

You know, you just can't explain to most non-Californians why another Schwarzenegger would be a mistake. In fact, it's hard to explain what's wrong with California to anyone who doesn't live there. And of course, winning is everything, so you can't explain what's wrong with another Schwarzenegger to some Californians, either.

[libstripper]

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.”

These are just the personal qualities we need in a pubbbie president after 8 years of the "new tone"

[libstripper]

The plurality at CPAC actually went to Romney. IIRC, Giuliani came in second.

[Zeroisanumber]

How is NYC not liberal?!

Plenty of liberals live here, but it's also home to plenty of conservatives. Until you've visited or lived here you can't understand the vastness and complexity of the city.

[jmc813]

When did Rudy Guliani take over the mantle of most hated from the President?

Hey there, C Dubs, nice to see you popping in. Nobody "hates" Giuliani or Bush. The reason that Rudy! takes more flack than Bush around here is that Bush is pro-life and not a gun-grabber. Those two issues are no-compromise issues amongst conservatives. Nominating Rudy! is about the most unpragmatic thing the GOP can do. He will lose the general.

Hope all is going well.