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Judging by the cranky feedback, supporters of Rudy Giuliani's bid for the Republican presidential nomination did not like my column last week. To sum up, I argued that Giuliani was pro-abortion and therefore did not deserve support from conservatives. Rudy backers offered three comebacks. Some simply chose to ignore his shameful pro-abortion record. Others proclaimed that abortion was just one issue and Rudy is a conservative on most others, especially fiscal issues. Finally, another group decided that his policy positions really don't matter because Rudy is the only guy who can beat Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton. Since we dealt with...

Welcome to the latest edition of PoliticalDerby.com's 2008 Power Rankings, the first tracking service of the '08 race for the White House. The rankings are updated as circumstances warrant, generally twice a month. Beginning in January of 2007 the rankings will be updated weekly until the major party conventions in August of 2008. The rankings are compiled by our in-house Jockey using wire reports, campaign staffer scuttlebutt, and confidential tips from you. The rankings may not be reprinted or quoted in any form without attribution to PoliticalDerby.com. GOP Horses | DEM Horses Power Ranking The Horse Previous Ranking Momentum The...

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Arizona senator John McCain remains one of the most popular prospective presidential contenders in the United States, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. At least 51 per cent of respondents would vote for the Republican in head-to-head contests against two prospective Democratic rivals.McCain holds a 13-point advantage over New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and a 20-point edge over current Massachusetts senator and 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry.Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also holds a high level of support as the Republican nominee. Giuliani leads Rodham-Clinton by 11...

***** Any conservative who knows anything about Rudy Giuliani's social views knows he is not the man to lead the party in 2008, or ever. The press isn't acknowledging Giuliani's stance on these issues in its attempt to give liberal GOP candidates like Giuliani and Sen. John McCain a free ride. We need someone to lead the GOP on the major social issues of our day, in addition to fighting the War on Terror and keeping our economy on the right track.......Giuliani's socially liberal agenda would be, as Sager quotes in his NY Post column, "utterly unacceptable." Name Redacted Manhattan...

New York's celebrity senator, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, generates near-constant buzz about a possible 2008 presidential bid. The outgoing governor, Republican George Pataki, has been making campaign reconnaissance trips to Iowa, site of the first-in-the nation presidential caucuses. But for former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the road to a possible presidential campaign has shaped up very differently. The man dubbed "America's Mayor" for his take-charge performance after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has been flying under the media radar, building his businesses and enjoying a prosperous private life while assessing his chances in a crowded and conservative...

NEW YORK - New York's celebrity senator, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, generates near-constant buzz about a possible 2008 presidential bid. The outgoing governor, Republican George Pataki, has been making campaign reconnaissance trips to Iowa, site of the first-in-the nation presidential caucuses. But for former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the road to a possible presidential campaign has shaped up very differently. The man dubbed "America's Mayor" for his take-charge performance after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has been flying under the media radar, building his businesses and enjoying a prosperous private life while assessing his chances in a...

Political pundits have long discounted former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential prospects, claiming that his particular brand of tough-talking, socially moderate conservatism would never play south of the Mason-Dixon Line. But Rudy has never been one to listen to conventional wisdom, and lately at least, he has been turning up the heat in southern conservative political circles. In just the last week, he endorsed Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry for re-election and met with Evangelicals in Florida. Most impressively, he actually outpaced U.S. Senator John McCain in a just-released Georgia poll, garnering the support of 28 percent of...

The next presidential campaign won't officially start until after the midterm elections, but it is of course already underway. Here's a roundup of the GOP field, with advice for what each potential candidate might do in 2006 to boost his (or her) chances of winning the Republican nomination in 2008. Below, the contenders are listed in the order of how they placed in the National Journal's December "insiders poll" — a survey of 100 Republican politicians and consultants who were asked to rank the candidates and their chances. The results are based on a calculation that grants five points for...

(CNN) -- If the results of a recent poll pan out, voters will see two big names from the Big Apple on the ballot in November 2008. Those names are Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Thursday indicated Clinton and Giuliani were the early favorites to win their respective party's nomination. But those polled said they believe the former first lady would have a smoother path to the nomination than her GOP counterpart. Conducted December 9-11, the telephone poll asked 393 registered voters who described themselves as...

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the Empire State want a former New York City mayor to run for president in 2008, according to a poll by Strategic Vision. 62 per cent of respondents say they would like Rudy Giuliani to launch a White House bid.Giuliani—a Republican—garnered national and international attention in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The former mayor currently heads Giuliani Partners, LLC—a consulting firm.Last week, Newsday reproduced the comments of John Dennehy—a strategist during the 2000 presidential run by Republican Arizona senator John McCain—on Giuliani’s possible presidential bid. Dennehy declared, "In my humble...

Sen. John McCain is preparing for a 2008 showdown with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who so far who leads him in the presidential race according to most polls. While the two men remain personally friendly, sharing dinner recently at a Manhattan bistro, Newsday reports that McCain's team is monitoring Giuliani's every move - including keeping track of how much face time the former mayor gets on TV. Meanwhile, McCain insiders aren't shy about trashing the former mayor's presidential prospects. "In my humble opinion, Rudy wouldn't get out of the gate," longtime McCain strategist John Dennehy tells the...

Interesting Poll by FOXNews on 2008 elections and such, especially regarding Condoleezza Rice. Clinton still clear frontrunner for Dem nomination with 44% Support from Party Giuliani still in lead with 26%, with McCain at 23% and Rice at 18%. Allen barely coming in at 2% despite recent pushes by some activists. In head to head match-ups, Giuliana leads Clinton by double digits, 50-39, wile taking 20% of DEMs and losing just 8% of REPS to Clinton and a 16 point advantage with INDs. McCain has virtually the same numbers as Giuliani. (49-38) But Condoleezza Rice has the strongest support from...

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2005 1:04 p.m. EDT NY'ers Back Rudy Over Hillary for Prez New York State voters would back former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for president over home state senator and Democratic Party favorite, Hillary Clinton, according to a Marist College poll released Friday. Forty-nine percent of New Yorkers say Rudy should run for the White House, while only 40 percent want Hillary Clinton do the same. While more than two-thirds of Empire State Republicans [67 percent] want Rudy to seek the Oval Office, just 54 percent of Democrats [52 percent] say Hillary should run. What's more,...

September 7, 2005--Twenty-seven percent (27%) of Americans say they will definitely vote for Hillary Clinton if she runs for President in 2008. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll for the Hillary Meter finds that 38% will definitely vote against her. Those figures are little changed from our last poll, but are a bit more pessimistic for the former First Lady than poll results from earlier in the year. Related surveys have shown Clinton leading Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush in hypothetical 2008 match-ups while trailing Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Americans say New York's junior Senator is...

Hurricane Katrina may have changed the dimension of the nation's politics for 2008. With George W., we voted for him because he would take the fight against terrorism to its origination point: the Middle East. I salute that strategy and believe that Iraq will be democratized with great dividends for our international security. But next it'll be important to have a president who can slash through red tape and make us secure at home. The Katrina thing wasn't Bush's fault, but what was needed was a president who could pull the trigger domestically, knock heads together with the state and...

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani holds an early advantage in the 2008 United States presidential race, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 42 per cent of respondents would support the Republican in a head-to-head contest against Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.In 2000, Giuliani withdrew from a campaign to the U.S. Senate—where he would have faced Rodham Clinton—after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Giuliani garnered national and international attention in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In a contest pitting Arizona senator John McCain against Rodham Clinton, the Republican holds...

NEW YORK Apparently it's never to early to speculate on the 2008 race for the White House. Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night had an "Indecision 2008" segment and Gallup just released a new survey on various trial heats. And guess what: Rudy Giulani is in the early lead in the Gallup gallop. Its most recent survey in late July found the former New York mayor with the highest favorable rating among several top possible choices, at 64%, with Hillary Clinton clocking in at 53%, John McCain at 51% and Sen. John Kerry at just 42%. Face to...

Gallup tested John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Guiliani, and John McCain in potential 2008 matchups. Both McCain and Guiliani trump Hillary 50 to 45 percent in the hypothetical race. And both McCain and Guiliani come out on top over Kerry 54 to 41 percent.McCain comes out very strong with a 51 percent favorable rating to 22 perecent negative. However, Rudy Guiliani beats the field with a 64 percent favorable rating to 19 percent negative.There can be no doubt those numbers will fluctuate and settle closer to 50 percent range once the '08 camapign is in full swing.However, if you're Guiliani...

"Public's view of John Kerry growing more negative" PRINCETON, NJ -- Even though the next presidential election is more than three years away, those who might pursue the office are already testing the waters in New Hampshire, in Iowa, and at other gatherings where party power brokers are present. The latest Gallup Poll assessed the public's overall views of four possible contenders for the office and tested how they would fare today in a hypothetical election. A majority of Americans say they have favorable views of Republican and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.,...

WASHINGTON — Televangelist and one-time presidential candidate Pat Robertson praised former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on Sunday, saying that despite disagreements on social issues, Giuliani would make "a good president." Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Robertson — who founded the Christian Coalition — also said he would be wary of appointing Muslims to top positions in the U.S. government, including judgeships. His comments on Islam drew a heated response from Muslim leaders, who criticized them as racist and inaccurate. Another conservative Christian leader, the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, was more cautious in an interview about embracing Giuliani...