Posted on 01/28/2008 6:05:01 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani loves to prove people wrong. He's trying to do it again in Florida.
Polls show the former New York mayor, last year's national front-runner, trailing badly in the state where he has bet almost everything in his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination. If he wins on Tuesday, he will have earned the biggest, brashest "I told you so" of his political career.
Lose, and Giuliani may be uttering his final words of the campaign.
"Wednesday morning, we'll make a decision," he told reporters between campaign appearances.
"In the past, I've done the impossible — things that people thought were impossible," he told supporters at a rally Monday. He was talking about immigration policy, but he might as well have been discussing how to resuscitate his presidential campaign.
"This is a place where we have to test ourselves," Giuliani added later. "The winner of Florida will win the nomination; we're going to win Florida."
In an unconventional move, Giuliani largely bypassed the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina, pinning his hopes on a fractured field and the prospect that his moderate GOP record would attract support in the delegate-rich states of Florida, New York, California and Illinois.
Florida has been less than hospitable. Surveys show rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain fighting for the lead, and the state's top two Republicans — Sen. Mel Martinez and Gov. Charlie Crist — endorsed McCain. The news back home is just as bad; the latest USA Today/Gallup poll showed McCain leading in New York and Giuliani dropping.
Inside an airport hangar, as a crowd of supporters dispersed, some grumbled about Crist's decision to endorse McCain — a major slight to the ex-mayor.
"That was a rotten trick. I'm disappointed," said John Fischer, a self-described "geezer from New Jersey" sporting bright red suspenders and a Giuliani sticker plastered to his cap.
Fischer said he thought Giuliani might still win, but if not, "I would hope one of the other guys could find a place on the ticket for him."
Giuliani made an appeal to those voters turned off by the recent mudslinging between McCain and Romney.
"I am sick and tired of all this negative campaigning. I am sick and tired of all this name-calling. This is no way to conduct a presidential election," Giuliani said.
Orlando property manager Donna Barron said she hopes the polls are wrong.
"Maybe this will be the year the polls die," said Barron. "I don't know if Rudy's going to win or not, but I know I'm voting for him regardless, and my husband is, too."
Giuliani was the early favorite among Republicans last year, due to his larger-than-life role leading New York City after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It earned the cover of national magazines and drove a multimillion-dollar consulting business. Even years after the attacks, complete strangers would sometimes burst into tears when they met him.
But as the last year's primary positioning grew more intense and the grunt work of ground campaigning wore on, Giuliani's lead evaporated, resulting in weak showings in early states. He finished sixth in Iowa, fourth in New Hampshire.
He has settled on an all-or-nothing Florida strategy, and if he cannot pull off the upset, he will have scant support or resources left to compete with McCain or Romney in next Tuesday's 20-plus primaries and caucuses. He has spent $1 million a week in advertising in Florida.
Despite the long odds, those at Monday's rally continued to rave about what he did in New York, and that he should be elected to make similar changes to the entire country. Many cited their own personal connections to New York in praising Giuliani.
Actor Jon Voight, a product of Yonkers, N.Y., warmed up crowds by reminding them of how, under Giuliani, New York City was transformed into a much safer, cleaner and more livable city.
"God sent an angel, his name was Rudy Giuliani," said Voight, adding: "He's kind of a genius."
And Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum insisted that genius will be proven again Tuesday.
"The press is going to be wrong, the polls are going to be wrong," McCollum told the crowd.
Ain’t gonna happen. Giuliani made a big strategic mistake that you can’t make if you want to beat Hillary, or even McCain, Romney, or Huckabee.
He is betting on results from early voting to carry the day.
HHe said 400,000 had already voted.
/s
If the “clear front runner” can change so often, maybe we should choose the candidate on a basis other than our finger to the wind. At least the Clintons use their polling as a tool, and not as their agenda.
He made a big mistake being such a liberal.
[IMG]http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa124/mountainclmbr/giuliani.jpg[/IMG]
He doesn't have to win FL necessarily...just make a showing well above what the polls forecast.
If Giuliani wins, it increases the liklihood for a brokered convention.
LOL!
I could live with that very easily.
Who will Rudy endorse when he withdraws? My guess is McCain.
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