Posted on 05/17/2007 1:13:46 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
Washington - Just a month ago, Rudy Giuliani was riding high in polls of Republican voters for their party's 2008 presidential nomination. The former mayor of New York enjoyed near universal name recognition and a sterling reputation for leadership and decisiveness in the aftermath of 9/11.
And his liberal stands on divisive issues such as abortion? Maybe a new day had dawned, in which enough social conservative voters would put security concerns ahead of the culture wars to nominate a liberal Republican, some party activists had suggested. Others touted Mr. Giuliani's strength in the GOP field as a sign that theirs was a "big tent" party.
Now, the tide seems to be shifting. Giuliani's poll numbers have flattened noticeably in the past few weeks, following the first GOP debate early this month and the ensuing news coverage over his conflicted answer on abortion rights.
In the latest Cook Political Report/RT Strategies poll, Giuliani leads Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona by just one point, 25 percent to 24 percent, down from a seven-point lead at the end of April. In the Gallup poll, Giuliani's lead over Senator McCain has shrunk from 14 points in early May to six points in mid-May.
"He's been on the ropes the last couple of weeks," says Amy Walter, an analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, who cites not just his liberal stand on abortion, but also his inability to explain himself clearly. "Giuliani's strongest asset is supposed to be this sense that
he projects strength and courage of conviction. Yet on the first question about a contentious issue, he seemed to be all over the place."
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
That focus on the Saudi prince is going to come back and bite him. It just emerged that one of his clients is Saudi Arabia.
So, we’re to believe that turning down a big check from a Saudi prince on behalf of the 9/11 families = tough on terror. But when the Saudi royalty are writing out a check with “Giuliani” on the payee line, apparently he’s eager to accept it.
“Rudy has a 15 point lead as of today. He will be tough to bring down.”
Hey Kevmo. “bring down by” when?
Thanks for earlier ping. I think I can add one of those vidoes you had on one of the posts.
You too.
I don't think so -- for all of the hype over Guiliani and his supposed anti-terrorism (based on what record?) he sounds more suited for a role in an "early responder" area, not a "stop it before it happens in the first place" one.
Do I hear taps?
For now.
Tough time moving tickets in the South, no less? That's always a reliable sign a candidate is sinking.
Looks like Rooty's strategy to throw conservatives off the Repub Party lifeboat is sinking, too (/sarc).
Course Rooty's Campaign Spin Machine will weigh in any moment now---saying tix sales are fabulous (AFTER the campaign purchases most of them with straw buyers).
A tactic practiced by several famous 'authors' like Bill & Hillary Clinton, Rick Warren and others. Warehouses and churches full of books.
Yeah——U-Haul rentals to “best-selling” authors is a key marketing area.
Hey Kevmo. bring down by when?
***I would hope his campaign would be over by Tsunami Tuesday. His latest strategy appears to be to bypass the smaller, earlier primaries and spend his money on TV ads, grabbing the dumb republican vote and emerge as the front runner after that. It could lead to a messy or brokered convention.
It’s actually a reasonably strong strategy, one that would take candidates with a lot of name recognition to counter. And unfortunately, Duncan Hunter does not have that name recognition. So it’s a strategy that plays to rudy’s strength and Hunter’s weakness.
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.