Posted on 03/29/2007 6:41:40 AM PDT by areafiftyone
They held out things for him to sign: Political fliers. Books. A baseball. Yankees hats. NYPD hats. FDNY hats. A girl's crayon drawing of an American flag on looseleaf paper. One woman even held out her checkbook.
They told him they loved him and wanted to vote for him and couldn't wait to see him in the White House.
They snapped him with their digital cameras and camera phones, shoving their children into the frame.
Moving through the aisles of the store on West Charleston Boulevard, Giuliani alternated a mock-serious survey of store shelves with posing for pictures, his rabbity, dimpled smile frozen in place.
From the $10 Value DVD rack, Giuliani selected "Remember the Titans," then waded in for more photo ops.
He stocked up on deodorant and Zone nutrition bars, batteries and lotion.
He picked up a book by Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, whose last name, properly pronounced "vee-ZELL," he pronounced "WISE-ull."
A young woman stopped Giuliani to tell him she'd just moved to Las Vegas from New York, where she was on the 73rd floor of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"My brother was there too," 27-year-old Jill Moran told Giuliani. "We both got out."
Moran articulated the reason everyone remembers Giuliani, the reason everyone seems to love him.
"He changed our lives," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "He's the reason we went back to the city. He's the reason we went back to work."
Giuliani makes it clear he's hoping to parlay his post-9/11 leadership into the presidency.
Asked in an interview what Nevada voters want, he said, "I think they're looking for the same thing people in New York are looking for, or Texas, or South Carolina, or Iowa or New Hampshire. They're looking for a leader. They're looking for somebody who can give the country direction, focus, at a time in which we're at war."
Those aren't necessarily qualities the current leadership lacks, Giuliani said.
"I think President Bush as president has really remained very, very focused on dealing with these terrorists and kept us on offense. But I think that's something that will be continually even more important as this moves along. Iraq is only one part of this whole terrorist war against us, and I think we've got to understand that we have to be on offense, and I think the American people are going to want a strong leader who can handle terrorism, and I think I probably have the most experience doing that."
That experience isn't limited to the legendary few months after 9/11, when Giuliani was credited with holding New York together in the wake of historic trauma, but comes from his long service as a federal prosecutor, Giuliani said.
"I handled all kinds of criminal cases, including terrorism," he said. "I investigated (former Palestinian leader) Yasser Arafat before anybody knew who he really was. I dealt with Nazi war criminals and had them sent back to be held to account for the crimes, acts against humanity. I've got a very, very long history of dealing with severe criminality and terrorism."
Giuliani was in Las Vegas just before the November election, stumping for Gov. Jim Gibbons. On Wednesday, Giuliani said he loves to play golf here, and that Las Vegas reminds him of New York City, from the tourists on the Strip to the 24-hour rhythm.
Giuliani said he was aware of the safety concerns with the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and "somebody would have to take a good look at that."
When pressed, he did not rule out the repository, however.
"One of the things you've got to be real careful about with nuclear power is you've got to make sure it's really, really safe," he said. "Frankly, some of the problems that have occurred with Yucca Mountain are matters of grave concern, so you'd have to take a good look at that."
Those concerns should not kill the nuclear power industry, he said.
"We're going to have to find a way to expand nuclear power, because it's one of the ways in which we can give ourselves (energy) independence and also not have it impact on the environment, on pollution, global warming, the things that concern people," he said.
In polls, both nationally and in Nevada, Giuliani has a strong and steady lead among Republican voters in these very early days, long before the 2008 election. And yet the conventional wisdom in political circles is that he can't win the Republican nomination.
Is it just a stereotype to assume that Republican stalwarts won't support a thrice-married Italian-American with a brusque New York accent?
Or are the pundits right when they say all that adulation will fade when people get to know the Giuliani who is no right-winger when it comes to abortion, gun control, immigration and homosexuality?
Asked how he planned to get through the primary, Giuliani shrugged.
"Right now we're ahead," he said, laughing. "So we'll see if it stays that way."
You probably could add AZ to that list if Richardson is the V.P. against a weak (to the general electorate) Republican ticket.
In New York, they do not consider anyone who is as conservative as we on FR are as real people. They see us as cave-dwelling, knuckle-dragging, types.
Rudy is definitely right of center when you compare him to other NYC residents.
I think he will moderate his beliefs (go more to the right) as he changes his job description.
Regarding guns, he has agreed to appoint strict constructionist SCOTUS judges. That is really all a President can do to protect your gun rights: To promise as much as he can NOT to interfere with the current trend of CC permits and "shall issue" legislation. As a target shooter and one who appreciates the Second Amendment, I do not fear Rudy.
Regarding abortion, likewise, the best thing a President could do would be to appoint strict constructionist SCOTUS judges. Then, when the right circumstances appear to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion laws will be returned to the states as they should be. Rudy has agreed to do this.
I can't tell you how many Right to Life banquets I have been to over the years where I have heard of or seen people like Dan Quayle or George Bush 41 profess their sympathy with the movement. Years and years later exactly ZERO progress in right to life legislation has occurred. This is because the good will of Presidents and legislators has ZERO effect on the war on abortion. The only way to change things is by appointing strict constructionist POTUS judges, which Rudy has agreed to do.
Regarding statism, I am not so sure Rudy wants this. Did you see his interview on Kudlow and Company on CNBC? He was emphatic about wanting to cut taxes on all fronts, agressively and permanently if possible. This is not the talk of a statist, in my opinion.
I think Rudy is trying to communicate the point that his circumstances as Mayor of NYC require a certain liberal bent, and in that environment he was as conservative as he could be. He was definitely into 'law and order' as witnessed by his cleaning up of NYC. He was definitely a fiscal conservative as witnessed by his cutting so many taxes in NYC. He was and is DEFINITELY into strong defense and taking an active stance against terrorism. He definitely inspires and reassures people in trying times. These are good, CONSERVATIVE traits, all.
He is definitely trying to show that he understands that his role as POTUS must involve his representation of the more conservative American population, not the liberal NYC population.
Regards, caddie.
LOL...
You are free to vote for whoever you like.
You are free to like or dislike whoever you choose. So are others. This is a free country. Support whoever you want to. Others will support who they want to.
Rudy is NOT a social conservative but he has said he will appoint strick constructionist judges.
You are free to want whatever you choose. So are others.
You don't need to support Rudy. Maybe Thompson is more to your liking?
Thank you SO MUCH for granting me my First Amendment Rights. I never would have known that without your help!
You aren't being asked to support Rudy - at least not by me. Support whoever you like. I hope that you can find a candidate that you can get excited about and work for.
Use your own internal ignore button and don't click on the thread if you don't want to read it. You are free to ignore all threads you are not interested in.
Rudy is NOT a social conservative. Hunter is NOT a fiscal conservative. You are free to choose one or neither.
You don't need to support Rudy. You are free to support whoever you like. I hope you are able to find a candidate you can get excited about.
He's drawing tons of gamblers who want to bet on the odds that a pro-abortion, anti-gun, pro-illegal alien, pro-gay transvestite from the Northeast will get to be President of the U.S., or the shrill, vicious, anti-American guardian and wife of a serial sexual predator/congenital liar.
The next year should be very interesting.
Who was the last Senator to become President?
You're welcome. You are free to support whoever you like and others are free to do the same.
Rudy isn't a fiscal conservative, either. He opposed Forbes' flat tax. He opposed eliminating the commuter tax. And NYC spending well-outpaced inflation after 1995. Rudy left the city with a much-increased debt load.
Another Rudy myth trampled into the dust by inconvenient facts.
Who was the last mayor to become president?
And do you think you could add something to FR other than pointless one-liners and inane babbling informing us of rights we already are well aware that we have?
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