Voters Take Rudy's Private Life Personally

RealClearPolitics ^ | September 20, 2007 | Peter Brown

[2ndDivisionVet]

Rudy Giuliani wants voters to ignore his personal life and elect him president based on his record as New York mayor. Recent data indicate that may not be a winning strategy.

Republican voters think his personal life is relevant and are skeptical about a candidate who -- like he -- has been divorced more than once or has a strained relationship with his kids. They also don't see a stint as a big city mayor as the best training to be president.

Of course, Giuliani remains the GOP front-runner. He leads national polls, although in the early voting states -- Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- he is behind in many surveys.

But his numbers have dropped, while former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have gained. Arizona Sen. John McCain, after a dip, has stabilized his position.

Giuliani leads because 82 percent of voters in last week's New York Times/CBS poll say he has strong leadership qualities. But he is potentially vulnerable because his support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control put him outside the GOP mainstream.

Moreover, in a nomination contest in which social conservatives carry great clout, his personal life is likely to be an issue.

Giuliani has been married three times, once to a second cousin. His second divorce was very messy amid allegations of infidelity that he has denied. Giuliani's children have said they would not campaign for him. Their relationship appears, to put the best face on it, strained.

Giuliani uses public perception that he is a strong leader -- perhaps the most important characteristic Americans seek in a president -- at every opportunity. He tells voters that is what matters, not his personal life.

[2ndDivisionVet]

As well they should. They should also take into account that he's a gun-grabbing, gay-friendly, pro-abortion liberal RINO. The difference between a Rudy and a Hillary presidency is merely the gender of the officeholder.

[donnab]

I do find it somewhat ironic that one of Hilliarity’s top backers ripped Guilliani for his marriages. I mean afterall Bill and Hill are the poster children for the sanctity of marriage. NOT.

[xsmommy]

the difference is, it matters more to conservatives. Therefore, having the sordid marital history will always be a bigger detriment to any republican than to any dem. those who think that Hillary won’t dare raise Rudy’s checkered personal past because of her own husband’s perfidy are whistling in the dark. dems do NOT care. republicans, conservative ones, anyway, do. that is why rudy cannot beat her.

[Joe Boucher]

Yes, Rudy is for:
gun control
pro abortion
for amnesty
pro big govt.
etc. etc. etc.,
But if it comes down to Rudy or Mrs. & Mr. Clinton in a general election?
Mrs. Clinton worked (pro bono-that means for free)for the black panthers back when that group was killing folks.
Mrs. Clintons stands on these and many other issues are similar to Rudys. But so many other issues have shown her over the years to be a socialist, thief and killer. An enabler of a sexual pervert and all.
I am not a Rudy supporter, I am way to conservative for him both socially and fiscally.
Rudy is not my guy but he sure as hell is better for America
then Mrs. & Mr. Clinton.

[roses of sharon]

Notice how this article is written after Hillary’s goons responded to Rudy’s calling her out on her anti-american stance.

Hillary has no answer to that charge, so she talks about his marriage.

Gee, like I would I’ll vote for a commie vampire who is a member of an anti-american political party, vs a guy who couldn’t get his love life straight.

Good grief.

[ThanhPhero]

For the Democrats, bad behaviour, especially marital and sexual bad behaviour, is a badge of honor. It is shame to conservatives and the Democrats can beat them with it, even when the Democrats are far more stained with the same brush.

[TChris]

Forget about his private life, Giuliani's public cross-dressing is enough to guarantee that I never want this man in the White House.

[JSDude1]

True; but at least they did stay together (for whatever reason, even if political). God doesn’t want marriages to fail, even The Clintons, I doubt

[MeanWestTexan]

Sounds like Rudy would be a formidable Democratic candidate for president.

[elizabetty]

I still can’t get over the idea that the guy who announced to his wife (and the mother of his children) that he was divorcing her at a press conference while he was serving as an elected official DOESN’T want to talk about his family life now.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I do find it somewhat ironic that one of Hilliarity’s top backers ripped Guilliani for his marriages.

Of course they're going to rip on him over his marriages. It matters more to conservatives than it does to liberals. If there's one thing Dems can do, is that they can play a mean game of politics.

[hunter112]

The difference between a Rudy and a Hillary presidency is merely the gender of the officeholder.

One more big diff, Vet. Rudy would expect the support of Republicans in Congress, while Hillary would rightly earn their open contempt from day one. A Rudy Presidency would destroy the Republican Party, while a Hillary one would strengthen it, by causing us to flush the RINOs out of the wound.

May we not be faced with this particular choice.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I’ve said much the same in other posts. A Rudy presidency is perhaps MORE dangerous than a Hillary administration because we would be expected to go along with his plans.

[donnab]

thats what makes it ironic...
the dems that dont care...are the ones that only care when it is convenient.
We all should care.

[AFreeBird]

But if it comes down to Rudy or Mrs. & Mr. Clinton in a general election?

Then the Republican party in this country is severely broken. I am tired of the "lessor of two evils" as a choice. I want an American. A real American, who understands and embraces OUR heritage and will stand up and fight for it, locally, nationally and internationally.

My tagline still stands.

[Cicero]

I don’t want to repeat myself, but it needs to be said.

Yes, Hillary is even worse than Giuliani. But I could never vote for someone like Giuliani for president, because it would destroy the party.

If hillary were elected, it would be a disaster. But we could hope she would screw up, as she has every other time she has tried to do anything significant in public, and that the Republicans could win back congress in 2010, and that we could make her a one-term loser.

But if Giuliani were elected, it would destroy the Republican party and the conservative coalition. The bad effects would last ten or twenty years.

The obvious solution to this predicament is to speak out now, so the Republicans won’t be stupid enough to make the unrecoverable mistake of nominating Rudy. Once he’s nominated, that’s the ball game.

[loreldan]

...are skeptical about a candidate who -- like he -- has been divorced more than once or has a strained relationship with his kids.

Are we talking about Reagan or Guiliani?

[2ndDivisionVet]

President Ronald Reagan was divorced ONCE and had a much better relationship with his children than Rudy Giuliani and I resent your attack on him.

[trisham]

Are we talking about Reagan or Guiliani?

*********************

Gee, I don't know. Who do you think we're talking about?

[phillyfanatic]

Odd too that Dobson is not going with the Fred Heads. I am not voting for Pope. I am voting for Rudy as of now since he is the only guy so far who can defeat the She Beast. After his discussion about Moveon today, I suggest that we need all to unite and defeat her. She is far more dangerous to all Americans than any Pub and especially Rudy.