You are erroneously focusing on the non-dispositive issues. Giuliani is leading in the polls not because of his views per se but because of who he is.
We must pick the best candidate. Period. He (and it must be a 'he'--see 'HILLARY'S COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF PROBLEM' above) will, IMO, be in some ways a non-Bush.
He will be seen as highly competent, a strong leader, a strong Commander in Chief, have demonstrated success fighting terrorists and criminals, be a great communicator and, most important, be a non-ideologue: The country has been demagogued on this, and fairly or not, will look for comity in 08.
Timing is everything. If you really want to win--and by that I mean succeeding in achieving your agenda--you will pick your fights and the timing wisely. If we lose the war, nothing else will matter.
Lopez: Rudy? Does it have to be Rudy?
Podhoretz: It doesn't have to be Rudy, but in my view he is the best candidate for the GOP. He remains wildly popular despite having made almost no public appearances in the past two years. His record as mayor of New York City—which one can plausibly argue is a job equal to being the governor of most states—remains the most extraordinary example of active conservative governance at the local level in the past 75 years. He is not a Washington candidate, which means he can separate himself from the congressional party's excesses and hijinks. Most important, he spent eight years as a liberal-slayer in New York, taking on every major institution, refusing to kowtow to the New York Times and the liberal media, and getting so much done that the city is still reveling in the revival for which he was almost solely responsible.
Lopez: Why not John McCain? Why not an Allen or Romney?
Podhoretz: John McCain has too complicated a history with the social conservatives and activist groups, and is such a gadfly that it seems inevitable he will act in ways to divide the GOP coalition. Unlike Rudy, he seems to prefer making friends with liberals and attacking conservatives, and that's not a good stance for a party leader. I guess George Allen is a plausible candidate, but why is he at three percent in polls of likely primary voters while McCain and Giuliani are nearly 30 points higher? As for Mitt Romney, I just don't think the nation is ready for a Mormon president (and by the way, I say that as an observant Jew who doesn't think the nation is ready for a Jewish president either).
STOPPING HILLARY
[JOHN PODHORETZ'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT MESSAGE (and it's not his 'HILLARY IS A BITCH' THEORY OF ELECTABILITY)]
Kathryn Jean Lopez interviews John Podhoretz
National Review Online
May 09, 2006, 6:13 a.m.