GOP Nominee
Former Candidates
I never considered supporting Rudy Giuliani for President this time. He didn’t match up closely enough with me ideologically to support in a multi-candidate primary, no matter how electable he would have been in a general election. On social issues like abortion, he was too liberal for me. On some other issues, he was too conservative. I agree with John McCain and disagreed with Rudy on waterboarding. I also disagreed with him on some civil liberties issues like wiretapping and things of that nature. I also thought Rudy’s abrasiveness would have made it difficult to negotiate and build alliances with foreign countries. I did agree with Rudy on most fiscal issues and thought he did a good job as Mayor of New York.
Despite my differences with Rudy, I think more of him now than I did at the beginning of the campaign. He has his bad points, but he has his good qualities too. He gave a nice concession speech in Florida, something Hillary did not have in her heart to do in South Carolina. He said he ran an uplifting campaign, and he did. He ran the most positive campaign of all Republicans. His attacks were restricted to the Democrats. He was, and is, a team player. Even with candidates from much different backgrounds and belief systems than his, he would look to find good qualities. He once said he thought Mike Huckabee had a positive attitude. I hope Rudy continues to be a player in the Republican party and perhaps part of President McCain’s administration. But Rudy will never be President. Though people lament his strategy of bypassing early states, the failure was deeper than that. In our two-party system, a man like Rudy Giuliani simply cannot get elected President. He is too conservative to win a Democratic nomination and too liberal to win a Republican nomination.
Best wishes for the rest of your life Rudy. You ran an uplifting campaign and deserve a lot of credit.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Great article. Is Deroy Murdoch endorsing McCain?
February 8th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
As clean a campaign as Rudy ran, can we really say he ran a campaign? It could be the worst strategy of all time.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Edit: Davew….-KWN
February 8th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
As a follow-up…RUDY 2012!!!
February 8th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I think Rudy’s hopeful for VP or for GOP chairman.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
McCain would be an idiot not to include Rudy in his administration somewhere if not his VP. Like him or not, Rudy is a man who says what he means and means what he says. Though at times abrasive he is a refreshing voice in a political world of flip floppers who compromise principle for votes. You may not agree with him but you know where he stands and why he stands there. His record in NY is one of incredible conservative results even on social issues. Then add his leadership on 9-11 and hands down he is the best man for our country.
P.S. This is coming from a man in full time evangelical ministry
February 8th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Clarence,
McCain shared your sentiments during his acceptance of Giuliani’s endorsement, and when they appeared together on Leno last week.
Here are the relevant excerpts from McCain’s speech and from The Tonight Show:
“I thank you Rudy and I am deeply honored. I am deeply honored by your friendship, which has been for many years. I, like all Americans, will never forget the defining moment of recent American history — the tragedy of 9/11. And I saw Rudy Giuliani unite this nation in a way that made us all proud. And all of us were recommitted to defeating the terrible evil that attacked New York City on September 11th. I had the honor of spending time with him in New York City as he not only restored the spirits and the courage and the commitment of the people of New York City, but of the people of the United States of America.
All life is full of anecdotes. My favorite anecdote was in the World Series of that year when Rudy came with me to Phoenix, Arizona — a packed stadium of 40-some thousand rabid Diamondback fans. On the Jumbotron was the face of Rudy Giuliani. Every one of those fans stood and applauded and cheered and cheered and cheered because this man is a national hero. And I’m honored by his friendship. And I’m honored to know a person who played such a great role in uniting the United States of America after one of its greatest tragedies was inflicted on it.
So, I want to say, I not only thank him for his friendship. I want to thank him for his leadership of America. I want to thank him as we wage this struggle to secure the presidency of the United States. It will be a clear choice this November and I believe that my life has prepared me — a life of service and a life of dedication to lead this nation in the transcendent challenge of the 21st Century: the great threat, and the evil of radical Islamic extremism which threatens everything we stand for and believe in. And my strong right arm, and my partner, and my friend in this effort will be the former mayor of New York City, an American hero — Rudy Giuliani. I am deeply honored. Thank you very much.�
————————————————————————————————–
JAY LENO: Let me ?? a lot of Republicans think you guys are too liberal. What do you think?
(Laughter.)
RUDY GIULIANI: I don’t know who they are. Read the editorials about me when I was mayor of New York, and you would never ?? everybody has their own definition of all of these things, but on national security, fiscal policies, just about all the ways in which you define conservative, I think both of us are conservative. But I think both of us also want to get things done. If you’re mayor of a city like I was or a senator who’s trying to get things done, you have to work with the other side. There are times in which you’ve got to accept three?quarters of what you would like in order ?? or maybe even half. Ronald Reagan taught me that. Ronald Reagan used to say it’s better to get, you know, 70 or 80 percent than to get nothing at all.
JAY LENO: Right. You talked about your campaign because at this time last year ??
RUDY GIULIANI: Do we have to?
(Laughter.)
JAY LENO: It’s sort of fascinating to me because, at the time, maybe this time last year, Iraq and maybe national security were the issues, and that’s your issue. You’re the man on that. And then it seems to have switched to the economy. Do you think that might have explained some of the downturn?
RUDY GIULIANI: I think there are a lot of things that explain it. I don’t think it’s particularly that. I think the great campaign that he ran coming from where it looked like it was over, and John never accepted it was over. I was asked at the time if I thought it was over, and I said, “Wait and see,” because of the way I know John is. I think his great campaign, some of the other things that happened in the early primaries ?? I think that had more to do with it.
JAY LENO: How about putting all your eggs in one basket? Putting everything on Florida. What was the thinking there?
RUDY GIULIANI: The thinking was that that was the primary where we could do the best, and the damage was there was so many ?? three or four primaries before ?? and it was a strategy we had come to. It was a strategy we believed in, and it was obviously one that didn’t work.
JOHN McCAIN: It also was an honorable campaign, a very honorable campaign. I’ve lost campaigns, and I think one of the important things is how you look back on how you conducted it. I think it was an honorable campaign.
(Applause.)
JAY LENO: Could you ever be a running mate? Would you ever be a running mate? Is that something you would consider?
RUDY GIULIANI: No one runs as a running mate. I was asked that question a number of times when I was a candidate for President, and what I said was, “You don’t make decisions like that until you’re the nominee, and then you give it a lot of reflection. Nobody runs for it. The candidate has to have a total, absolutely open choice as to whoever they think is the best.”
JAY LENO: If you were doing this all over again, would you have worked harder in those early primaries? Because it seems like once you get the headlines ??
RUDY GIULIANI: Yeah, it’s too early to say. It’s too early to say. As you go back over ?? what would you have done? This differently? That differently? The one good thing was I was able to come out of it feeling that we had highlighted a number of really important issues about very large tax reductions, single?page tax return, sticking with what has to happen in Iraq, remaining on the offense against Islamic terrorism, and we came out of it with the ability to endorse a candidate I really believe in. So we’re okay with it.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-lenotrans1feb01,0,1050138,print.story
February 8th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
THINKING AHEAD TO 2012, DO YOU THINK ANY OF ROMNEY’S
CHICKEN SONS WILL CARE TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY?
(Remember the “60 minutes” interview and the Romney sons
sinking in their seats with shame/apologies)
Romney says he “loves America”.
That made me sick because our great country is great
due to BRAVE REAL MEN serving and risking/losing their precious
lives , to give WORMS like the Romney “men” a great country to
love!
February 8th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Aron, for me, all that was offset by Rudy’s absence at JMac’s victory speech Tuesday night, and FAR more telling, JMac’s omission of any thank you to Rudy that night. Which is inexcusable even if he’s NOT considering Rudy for VP.
JMac’s polling improved mostly in the “Rudy” states. And I’m assuming Rudy gave him his GOTV machine/data in CA, which was far more extensive than has been reported.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
“THINKING AHEAD TO 2012, DO YOU THINK ANY OF ROMNEY’S
CHICKEN SONS WILL CARE TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY?
(Remember the “60 minutes� interview and the Romney sons
sinking in their seats with shame/apologies)
Romney says he “loves America�.
That made me sick because our great country is great
due to BRAVE REAL MEN serving and risking/losing their precious
lives , to give WORMS like the Romney “men� a great country to
love!”
got to hell - and take you arrogant “holier than thou” rhetoric with you.
What are your military credentials?
February 8th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Rudy would make a great AG.
February 8th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Metro,
Are you aware that Giuliani was seen dining with McCain, his wife, Lieberman and Crist after the alleged ’snub’?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02072008/gossip/pagesix/sightings_______sightings_821573.htm
February 8th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Thanks, Aron — makes me feel better.
Still, pretty damn odd he wasn’t in the thank-yous.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Rudy–the last Republican other than Thompson and Paul who could have convinced me to vote for them in November.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Or maybe Rudy should run for the Libertarian Party nomination for President for ‘08.
Fiscally Conservative/Socially Tolerant voters have nobody to back in this election cycle. We either lodge a protest vote with the Libertarian Party or we abstain from the Presidential race.
If Rudy were to go 3rd party, we’d have a candidate that we could support.
February 9th, 2008 at 9:08 am
“Or maybe Rudy should run for the Libertarian Party nomination for President for ‘08.”
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I would disagree on one point; Giuliani is not too conservative to get the dem nomination. In his present form, yes, but the moderate views he expressed early in his mayoral term meshed well with the dems. That is not meant as an insult of any kind, but rather to acknowledge that there really is only one issue that separates dems and gop and that is abortion.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Oh my God! Axel G, are you kidding me!? Have you ever looked at the Democratic blogs?! They hated Rudy more than any of our candidates!
“There really is only one issue that separates Dems and GOP and that is abortion” is the most banal, stupid, morose, idiotic, dumb, ill-thought-out, etc., statement I’ve seen on this blog in a while.
February 9th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Axel G. wrote: “there really is only one issue that separates dems and gop and that is abortion.”
If that were the case, pro-choice Iraq war supporter, Joe Lieberman, would not have been banished from the Democratic party and stripped of his status as superdelegate.
February 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
A Mccain- Giuliani Ticket in November will be a formidable ticket against either Obama or Clinton. Our republican party will encompass a lager tent to include moderate Democrats as well as INdependents.