As skeptical as I am about Rudy's conservative bonafides, I think that's unfair. Giuliani was Time Person of the Year for 2001 (although it should have been bin Laden), and any high-profile pol gets attention when he lets his guard down in order to interact with the public. Rudy has double the status of Idol contestants, and has for years. Anybody thought about Justin Guarini lately?
Man, if not for the NY Times, would there be a MSM outlet that didn't favor Rudy over all candidates?
If not Rudy, who? You've gotta remember, the Gotham crowd knows Rudy like the back of their hands, and Hillary too, after 15 years of being First Doormat and then half-hearted Senator. Their dream would be for the Free World to depend on an epic battle between two New York heavyweights.
Personally, I worry that Rudy is following R-nold Arnol(D) Schwarzenegger's lead, and is playing conservative at strategic points until he gets the job, when he'll rip off the mask to reveal that he's Conan the Compromiser. I'm waiting for more about Thompson. He sounds like a natural communicator, unlike GWB, who sounds like he was asked not to return to Toastmasters. However, it's hard for me to imagine that a guy that deeply ensconced in showbiz doesn't have at least one secret that would make Newt blush.
"What is best in life? To fool conservatives, to see them fall at your feet -- to then trash their values and take their taxes and hear the lamentations of their strategists..."