Free Republic

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday dismissed his liberal social views--including support for gay rights--his divorces, and his former aide’s imbroglio as irrelevant to a presidential bid. Asked about a leaked political strategy memo that cited such issues as potentially insurmountable obstacles to a campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, Giuliani said, "That is not going to be the issue." "I sure have strengths and weaknesses," Giuliani said on ABC’s Good Morning America. "I think that sort of puts me in the same category as just about everybody else that’s running. Are my strengths greater or my...

Rudy Giuliani remains the most popular presidential hopeful for Republican Party sympathizers in the United States, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 30 per cent of respondents would vote for the former New York City mayor in a 2008 primary. Arizona senator John McCain is second with 23 per cent, followed by former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich with nine per cent, and Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with eight per cent. Support is lower for Kansas senator Sam Brownback, New York governor George Pataki, and California congressman Duncan Hunter.