Rudy Giuliani got the worst of this debate, in my view. He gave a confused answer on Roe v Wade, saying it "would be OK" if it were overturned and then implying it would be equally OK with him if it weren't. I am pro-choice, but Roe is clearly bad law and should be overturned with regulation of abortion (and almost everything else that government regulates) left to the states as their own "laboratories of democracy". Someone who wants to be President has to be able to take a stand on an issue that important, especially when he knows its the issue that most GOP primary voters are uncertain about when it comes to him. He said the Alternative Minimum Tax needed to be "adjusted" where the others who mentioned it said it should be eliminated. He gave a wishy-washy answer on the Terri Schiavo case, saying it should have been decided in a court. (Either the government had a role there or it didn't...and in case you're confused, the answer is it didn't.) Giuiliani seemed less energized and less charismatic than he usually does, and I think the debate was a negative for him.
The GOP debate: Missing Fred Thompson
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I bet Rudy was dressed to kill for this event.
DENVER - Rudy Giuliani emerged as a favorite among many members of the GOP‘s largest gay organization, who cited his record on social issues, taxes and defense.
However, delegates to the Log Cabin Republicans annual convention said Friday they also fear that the former New York mayor, in his bid to capture the Republican presidential nomination, might be waffling as he reaches out to the more conservative GOP voters who hold sway in the primaries.
~Snip~
With a record of supporting abortion rights, Giuliani said "it would be OK" if the Supreme Court upholds the 1973 Roe v. Wade Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion. "It would be OK to repeal it. It would be OK also if a strict constructionist viewed it as precedent," he said.
Former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, the event‘s keynote speaker, agreed. He told the group of about 200 that he thinks the party is in a better place than it was after delving into issues like the Terri Schiavo case and gay marriage.
Giuliani emerging as favorite of gays
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