Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Re: Rudy   [Kate O'Beirne]

It seems to me that there will be plenty of conservatives who want to like Rudy and who appreciate that he appears willing to return their affection. Here, he has an advantage over John McCain who many conservatives suspect doesn't much like them. That wasn't the case in 2000 when some conservatives wanted to like John McCain and viewed George Bush the Sequel with suspicion. McCain made the mistake of trying to appeal to independents at the expense of conservatives. I doubt Giuliani will do the same but still think he faces a tough climb. Republican voters already know what they like about him - 9/11's stalwart mayor, tough talking, law and order, governed an ungovernable city - and about 70 percent in the polls resist his appeal. Why? Should he split the moderate/independent GOP vote with John McCain who benefits? It certainly helps that he praises justices like Scalia, Roberts, and Alito, but having favored suing gun manufacturers in an attempt to hold them liable for gun violence in NYC and backed a lawsuit to overturn California's Prop 187 sorta contradict his recent admiration for judicial restraint.

02/06 04:50 PMShare