Posted on 01/13/2008 9:34:52 AM PST by barryg
It's a good thing for Rudy Giuliani that he believes in the power of optimism. These days his campaign needs some. For most of 2007 the former New York City mayor led the Republican field in national polls, some state polls, and money raised from individual contributors. He appeared to have convinced at least some conservatives that his opinions on abortion rights (he's for them) and gun control (he supports "reasonable restrictions") were less important than his tough stance against terrorism, his unabashed support for supply-side economics, and his promise to appoint what he called "strict constructionist" judges to the federal bench. Poll after poll showed that Republicans believed Giuliani was the GOP's best chance to hold the White House in 2008.
Those days are over. In about eight weeks Giuliani has gone from frontrunner to second-tier candidate. He lost Iowa and New Hampshire, finishing nowhere close to first. His campaign is pulling resources from this week's contests in Michigan, South Carolina, and Nevada to focus on the January 29 Florida primary, where polls still show him in the lead (by a shrinking margin). The news late last week that senior staff are working without pay put the Giuliani campaign on the defensive, causing it to release cash-on-hand figures showing it isn't broke. On the campaign trail, Giuliani is asked most often about his campaign strategy of not seriously competing in all the contested primaries and caucuses before Florida, then using the momentum from winning that contest to do well in large states like California and New York that vote on February 5. Giuliani says he isn't worried. Conceding New Hampshire, he said, "Maybe we've lulled our opponents into a false sense of confidence now." "Maybe" is right.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Giuliani’s loss has been McCain’s gain. I still like Giuliani but his negatives really caught up with him . . and the New York Media absolutely despises Rudy. If he wins Florida, all is back on track for Rudy. A big if . .
Bummer. LOL
Rudy’s the proverbial turd in the punchbowl around here(Ohio).Midwesterners look at his cross-dressing photos and don’t want to know any more..
Better put some ice on that!
Feast or Famine, which is how he chose to play it.
The only question is, will the (winning) tortoise be Thompson or Hunter? (Hopefully.)
I found this interesting. Rudy, McCain and Huck are all benefiting form the ‘womens’ vote, along with democrats, of course. It seems women are more easiliy fooled with the ‘feel good ‘ rhetoric. There are days I wish women had never gotten the vote.
“
Among Republicans, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s win over rival former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Iowa was largely thanks to women, according to exit polls, which show that roughly 40 percent of female Republican caucus-goers voted for Mr. Huckabee and only 24 percent for Mr. Romney. Fifty-two percent of Mr. Huckabee’s Iowa votes were from women, which made him the only Republican candidate to get more than half his support from females.
Among Republicans in New Hampshire, Sen. John McCain had a clear edge among women over second-place finisher Mr. Romney, according to an exit poll by the Associated Press.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080113/EDITORIAL/824596994/1013
Somewhat flawed argument...he didn’t really run in Iowa, and barely in NH. It is Florida or bust for Rudy. Always has been. Mitt’s failure to connect is a boost for Rudy. If Fred rises or if somehow McCain becomes a clear front runner, he might be in trouble with his strategy. The negative news about the mistress coupled with rebirth of the Kerik story have hurt him for certain, but he is not finished yet. If he loses FL, he’s done, but that was the case from the beginning.
I’ve heard the most REDICULOUS reasons for supporting a candidate from women (and likewise, girly-men). Some of which include:
“He looks like my father”
“He goes to my church”
“He LOOKS presidential”
“He has STAR power”
I expect such stupidity from DUmocrats, but these comments are from REPUBLICAN nitwits.
However, I would NOT rule him out yet--as the current unbelievable CHAOS plays perfectly into Giuliani's strategy of waiting until the big delegate states.
Just think, if he carries Florida's 'winner take all' primary--he will have a big lead in delegates--even though his national polls have been shocking, humiliating and embarrassing (dropping from almost 40% to under 20%)!!!! Amazing primary system, isn't it?
CHAOS is Rudy's best friend. It really works for Rudy--it might work really, really well!!! But, if a liberal like Rudy gets the nomination because of the chaos--a terminally divided, unfixable and broken party is what he will lead.
‘...crew at the Standard is in the tank for McCain..’
sent Barnes and Kondrake email saying something similar. They’ve been bashing Romney, Thompson, Giuliani and singing praises of McCain and Huckabee. I asked if it’s because McCain & Huckabee support ILLEGAL behavior. Barnes previously implied people against the ILLEGAL immigration bill were racist.
LOL....agree !
“There are days I wish women had never gotten the vote.”
It’s one thing to think that, but to actually say it is troubling.
Oh for the good old days, when women and blacks couldn’t vote.
All five of the Republican candidates are fine with me. I want the one who will fare the best against the Democrats. Right now, that is John McCain.
I would rather win with McCain then lose with Thompson or Romney.
Yeah, no one ever fully bought the [his] BS of him being a Conservative. he just can’t hide his liberal-progressive past, actions, and leanings.
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