What Is Rudy’s Game?
It would seem there’s no avoiding the scoop du jour served up by Bill Kristol at the Weekly Standard. Sources in the know claim that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is going to make another run at the Republican nomination for president, a bid which Kristol charitably describes as “implausible.” You likely wouldn’t have to search more than a handful of the usual conservative outlets to find other, less flattering adjectives being employed.
In no particular order, the questions immediately cropping up include:
- Is Rudy “running – running” or is this all for show?
- If he is running… why?
- And could this actually work?
Taking these questions in reverse, describing this as a long shot would probably be giving him too much credit. But, as Hot Air’s Allahpundit points out — with tongue firmly planted in cheek — some of his supporters might see a hypothetical path to victory. First of all, if you root around a bit in recent archives you can find a poll or two showing Rudy with enough juice to be considered a frontrunner on the national level. Step two requires Sarah Palin getting into the race in a cycle chock full of somewhat unpredictable hopefuls, and her recent bus tour may have set Giuliani’s spider senses to tingling. He could be betting that the entrance of Palin — still widely viewed in establishment GOP circles as unelectable no matter how poorly Obama is doing — would send the powers that be into panic mode and force them to consider a more established, moderate alternative.
Absolutely nothing in this scenario explains what he plans to do about Mitt Romney, who is still quietly raising millions of dollars and clobbering everyone in the polls across the early primary states. Of course, that’s not the cornerstone of a Rudy nomination theory. The dream Giuliani is chasing is the same one that George Pataki and all the rest of the RINOs and NERPs (Northeast Republican Politicians) have tried to sell for some time now. It’s based on the fact that, in the modern era, the Democrats can not win a presidential election without both New York and California. That nearly 90 electoral votes is the anchor they start with, working from there to stitch together the rest of the 270 they need to cross the finish line.
Giuliani has nothing to lose and everything to gain by floating this trial balloon, but he won’t enter the race. The cachet from 9/11 is long gone, those Seinfeld episodes are getting old, and his Saturday Night Live guest appearance is practically ancient history.
HIs game? Same as it ever was: dither, delay, drop out.
I don’t know what his game is, but I knew a lot of disgusted and disillusioned Dems out in California who were eager to switch parties for him back in 2008.
Narcissism. He’s delusional, if he thinks he has a chance. He got zero delegates in the last election. 0! He just likes the Media attention. There’s a reason he changes wives and mistresses the way he changes his socks. Narcissism. Clinton has the disease, and so does Obama. He is just a narcissist looking for his Media fix. This is why he a far-Left Repub. Narcissists are always Lefties. McCain is similar… loves the spotlight.
If he were actually serious, he’d show us he could carry NY by becoming Governor of NY. Then, he would have a viability argument to make, but he hasn’t.
He’s pretty much unelectable. After this Weiner scandal, the press would have a field day with Guiliani’s divorce, his mistress etc. The man publicly humiliated his wife, announcing his divorce plans to the press, rather than well, his wife.
Mind you it’s not simply a Republican hatred on my part, as a New Yorker, we do have warm feelings for him around 9/11. He rose to the challenge and did an admirable job as Mayor of New York.
But bottom line he’s got a mean streak and more than a few skeletons in his closet.
Never mind NY and CA. Look at PA, OH and FL–as well as NJ and CT. The Italian-American population is concentrated in key states. It’s a built-in constituency–one twelfth of the electorate–which was why Rudy, and only Rudy, was asked to campaign for Rubio, Brown and Christie in 2010–each a tea party favorite. What pundits forget is that Rudy’s is as famous as Sarah–and has a strong public image for leadership and competence. He’s been on network news since the 80s making headlines busting Wall Street billionaires, busting Mobster dons, working miracles in the Big Apple, at the epicenter on 9/11. Not only this, but 2010 proved he was still relevant. He drew big crowds in FL, MA and NJ, wherever he campaigned. Obama can’t define him because he’s already defined. People know he’s got warts. They know about his three marriages and recent divorce, they know about his liberal views on social issues, just as they know he’s a fiscal Reaganite, a strict constructionist, pro-Israel, pro-defense. What’s his game? To stop Romney. It’s as simple–and do-able–as that.
….which is why I am pushing a Perry/Giuliani ticket, if both men would be willing. Giuliani as a presidential candidate has too many warts, but as a VP candidate his good qualities, as you have listed them, can be emphasized. Two executives of major governmental entities (NYC being larger and more complex to manage than most states) with a track record of competence and productive job creation. The South and the Northeast. The Yin and the Yang. New York state might even be in play, giving the GOP a nice bunch of electoral votes. It would certainly appeal to independents.
Would social conservatives stay home if the presidential candidate checks off all the boxes, and the VP doesn’t but has a track record they appreciate? If they would vote for such a team it would be a landslide.
Someone pointed out to me that Rudy would not be likely to play 2nd fiddle. But if anyone could trump NYC it could only be Texas.
Why is Rudy doing this? Two words: Vice President. Or at the very least Attorney General. Palin/Giuliani? Romney/Giuliani? He would make an excellent VP.
The world would be a better place now if he’d been elected back in ’08.
i stopped listening to him after he dressed like a woman at a civic event.