[Moose4]

I’m still skeptical that Rudy can beat Hillary. Maybe he can, maybe he can’t. She probably will beat him in New York, which could be disastrous.

I still think we should be offering voters a much starker choice than the liberal Hillary vs. the liberalish (on many things) Rudy. You don’t win elections by pandering to the middle. You stake out your ground, you articulate your beliefs, and then you convince the voters that your beliefs are the way to go. That’s how Ronald Reagan did it. Can anybody out of the current crop do it, including Fred Thompson if he runs? Maybe.

}:-)4

[Miss Didi]

She probably will beat him in New York, which could be disastrous.

Why is that? Did W win NY? Rudy is well-loved around these parts. In my opinion, it would be a close race in NY and he'd definitely put NJ and CT in play.

[fredalan]

every R gets auto 40% of vote ... ditto the D. the fight is always for the 20% of the voter ... many of whom pay no attention to politics. exceptions to 40/40 were Perot first time (19%) C (44) B(37) and 64 Goldwater (37% - I think).

H will very very likely win NY ... u should assume that unless the election is a complete landslide. I think NY has only gone R once in 80 years or so.
RG can make NY close and force her to spend time and money there. RG will spend big in NY media market because that also covers NJ, Conn and NE Pa.
IN California H will only be a slight favorite up but that also forces H to spend lots of time and lots of money to defend. An enormously expensive media and organizational state but 20% of the electoral votes you need to win.
RG (just like Bush both times) needs neither state to win but if he wins California, H can’t win the election - almost impossible.

when u get to the normal other Dem states that are imperiled, that is where it gets very problamatic for H.

however anyone that discounts her appeal to women (particularly single); the organization they have; her debating skills and the mucho money they will raise would be very foolish. like her or not she is a very accomplished politician.
the left wing 527’s will also spend unimagined amounts of money on her behalf

[hinckley buzzard]

I’m still skeptical that Rudy can beat Hillary. Maybe he can, maybe he can’t. She probably will beat him in New York, which could be disastrous. I still think we should be offering voters a much starker choice than the liberal Hillary vs. the liberalish (on many things) Rudy

The pro's, like Michael Barone, point out that Rudy, unlike any other potential GOP candidate, puts every state in play. That means he has the potential for extraordinary coat-tails. I would like to elect a thoroughbred conservative myself but there seems to be a dearth of electable ones running. If one were actually serious about tackling 2008 from a conservative standpoint, the strategy might best be, first, get over 2006; then recruit good conservative Congressional candidates who could well ride into office on a Rudy win. Join with Pat Toomey and others who seek to replace the rinos with conservatives.

Or, I suppose we could all spend the next year and a half pissing and moaning about how awful it all is.