Rudy Guiliani Interview

[Spino]

I was waiting for you to chime in Spino, knowing you are from NY City and would have first hand knowledge with Hizzoner. Being from Western New York(the "wilderness in a NYC er's eyes), my memory (dang aneurism) of Rudy was fuzzy at best.

Wilderness indeed. Tell me, is it still fashionable to wear deerskin shirts and coonskin caps in those parts? Tres chic!

Seriously now, speaking as a native Brooklynite I can tell you there are few reasons to get excited over politics in this neck of the woods but Giuliani used to be one of them. I am also thankful for Giuliani because it was his mayorship that allowed Mike Bloomberg to become mayor. NYC has now had two excellent mayors in a row.

I don't see McCain as much of a contender in the primaries- too many hardcore conservatives remember McCain's flipflopping on tax cuts and his opposition to free speech to ever support him. Romney has piles of personal wealth and has been the most successful at fund-raising thus far. I think that's going to make him a threat.

Personally, I'm still hoping for a darkhorse candidate that I can actually get excited about to come forward

The one thing McCain has over Giuliani is his seemingly 'superior' character and moral record, both of which would cause moral conservatives to vote for the former, not the latter. McCain may have been married twice but the second marriage proved a success and he sports a huge family to boot (let us not forget the adopted daughter he got from an orphanage founded by Mother Teresa). McCain is also a Vietnam veteran and POW who never caved in to torture no matter how tightly Charlie turned the screws. Giuliani on the other hand has been married no less than three times and his previous marriage supposedly crumbled over his infidelities with his current wife (then mistress) Judith Nathan. Rudy does however have his well documented and widely acknowledged performance and leadership during and after the 9/11 attacks, factors which nearly granted him a laurel wreath and triumph by NYers and non-NYers alike. Anyway should morality prove to be an issue serial marriage and infidelity will not go over well with certain groups within the Republican party. Furthermore McCain is pro-life and Giuliani is pro-choice which is a huge issue to Republicans in general.

Romney may have a massive warchest at his disposal but he has little in the way of brand name recognition, something Giuliani and McCain have in spades. Let us not forget the vast personal fortune Forbes had at his disposal when he ran in previous elections.

A darkhorse candidate sounds wonderful but I don't think it's going to happen.

[Xiahou]

Romney may have a massive warchest at his disposal but he has little in the way of brand name recognition, something Giuliani and McCain have in spades. Let us not forget the vast personal fortune Forbes had at his disposal when he ran in previous elections.

Read this to see what I mean:
Mitt's Media Blast

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's decision to begin his television advertising campaign in a series of early primary states today signals a new phase in the run for the Republican presidential nomination.
.....
The second reason for Romney early ad blitz is simple: because he can. Romney has proven an able fundraiser -- collecting more than $6 million on a single day last month. He will have more than enough financial resources to build his name identification in early states.

I know I mentioned his personal wealth, but I didn't mean to over-emphasize it. AFAIK, Romney is the best Republican fund raiser of any of the major hopefuls and he's using that money.