Giuliani takes step toward '08 bid

[Midnight Mike]

Former N.Y.C. mayor opens presidential exploratory committee
The Associated Press
Updated: 7:05 p.m. AKT Nov 13, 2006
WASHINGTON - Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a moderate Republican best known for his stewardship of the city after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has taken the first step in a 2008 presidential bid, GOP officials said Monday.

The former mayor filed papers to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., establishing a panel that would allow him to raise money for a White House run and travel the country.

The four-page filing, obtained by The Associated Press, lists the purpose of the non-profit corporation "to conduct federal 'testing the waters' activity under the Federal Election Campaign Act for Rudy Giuliani."

The paperwork is signed by Bobby Burchfield, a partner at the DC-based law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, a firm that handles political work.

Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel declined to comment.

Top-level name recognition
Giuliani was widely praised for leading the city during and after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has said for months that he would wait until the end of the 2006 elections to decide whether to embark on a White House bid.

The former mayor is a moderate who supports gun control and abortion rights, stands that would put him at odds with the majority of GOP conservative base.

Still, the Giuliani brand remains strong; he headlined fundraisers for Republican candidates nationwide and his travel has done little to deny 2008 ambitions. During a visit earlier this month to Columbia, S.C., Giuliani dodged the question: "There's a chance, but that's after this election is over."

He then left South Carolina for New Hampshire, site of the nation's first primary and another GOP fundraiser.

Giuliani enjoys strong name recognition and roughly the same level of support as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Arizona Sen. John McCain. Rice has insisted that she will not run; McCain is likely to file his papers creating an exploratory committee shortly.

Politics of 9/11
Giuliani, who was in his final days as New York City mayor when a pair of planes crashed into the World Trade Center's towers, became a national hero. Within hours of the attack, the mayor was visiting the site, caked in dust and walking through the chaos - a moment replayed repeatedly on television.

Assuming the role of "America's Mayor" and Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2001, Giuliani remained an in-demand speaker and GOP fundraiser. He was the first Republican to lead New York in decades, had cut crime and redeveloped rundown parts of the city.

He was a former U.S. attorney, leading campaigns against organized crime and corruption. He spent two years as the Justice Department's No. 3 post, overseeing all U.S. attorneys, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Brooklyn native was first elected New York's mayor in 1993, pledging to improve the city.

Giuliani eyed a run for the U.S. Senate in 2000, but ended that run while battling prostate cancer and a made-for-tabloids divorce from television star Donna Hanover. The messy divorce and his relationship with Judith Nathan also made his campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton all the more difficult.

[hiss srq]

Heres to Rudi in 08'!

[NIKV69]

Couuld be interesting. I can't wait for 08'

[Midnight Mike]

I voted for Rudy when he ran against Dinkins and would be very excited if Rudy was to enter the Presidential arena....

The man has done so much for New York, I remember how the New York media attacked him for some of the things that he, perhaps the lowest, when Rudy started ticketing picketing for pissing in the streets & the media went nuts, saying this was bad for New York.... Amazing, trying to stop people from pissing in the streets is bad for New York....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/MidnightMike/Smileys/crazy.gif

Way to go Rudy, hope ya make a run in 2008
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v726/MidnightMike/Smileys/party-smiley-038.gif

[RDU-JFK]

The question is, who would New Yorkers vote for? Clinton, our senator who's a democrat, or Rudy, who's a (liberal) republican. New York would almost certainly vote for Hillary, but what about the city's ties for Rudy? I still think NY State would vote for Hillary because 1. She's a democrat, and 2. Upstate could care less what Rudy did for NYC.

Thoughts?

[Matt Molnar]

I would vote for Rudy, but I'm not sure about his national chances. The press will tear apart his personal life, which has not been without some scandal. There are also his close ties to Bernard Kerik, which might not stand up to scrutiny. I'm sure they can find other stuff too. He's a great man, and was a great mayor, but I'm not sure he can beat McCain for the nomination. These guys are very close though, and I think in the end it will be a McCain/Giuliani ticket.

[PhilDernerJr]

Ilove Rudy, but he just clinched putting Hillary into the White House in '08.

[cancidas]

if he runs, i might just vote republican.

[hiss srq]

I am all for Rudy and if Clinton gets into office in the white house I would seriously leave the USA for the term till folks got a brain and booted that femanazi liberal out. Shes no good for us. She will sell us to the Chinese and socalize the whole flipping planet. Businesses will struggle and wellthe misery of new York will be the misery of America. I will take anyone except Clinton in the whitehouse. There are only a few people on this planet that I could honestly say make my blood boil at the speaking of the name and they are Hillbilly Clinton, Nancy Grace, Chuck Schumer, Mary Schiavo, A-Rod and Allen Iverson. So yeahit is off to Jamaica again for me if she gets in.

[T-Bird76]

I am all for Rudy and if Clinton gets into office in the white house I would seriously leave the USA for the term till folks got a brain and booted that femanazi liberal out. Shes no good for us. She will sell us to the Chinese and socalize the whole flipping planet. Businesses will struggle and wellthe misery of new York will be the misery of America. I will take anyone except Clinton in the whitehouse. There are only a few people on this planet that I could honestly say make my blood boil at the speaking of the name and they are Hillbilly Clinton, Nancy Grace, Chuck Schumer, Mary Schiavo, A-Rod and Allen Iverson. So yeahit is off to Jamaica again for me if she gets in.

The misery of New York??? I don't see to many people upset she was relected back to office. I'm a bit miffed only a few days after the Dems are in they are talking about pulling out of Iraq and trying for a national healthcare system but misery is a strong word.

I'm not sure about Rudy just yet, he has his positives and negatives. On the positive side he's a true moderate who can work both sides.

[Tom_Turner]

All Rudy needs is the right campaign manager/strategist.

Can someone remind me what Hillary Clinton's accomplishments are again?

I can appreciate that she is a hard working ambitious politician that beat that boob Lazio...but apart from that, the best weapon in her arsenal apart from "populist" campaigning that would make Pat Buchanan proud, would be her husband..but he is her achilles as well.

If Rudy wins merely 40% of NYC, he will likely carry NY State.

They both have similar personal marriage background issues...
except one said "mind your business" when confronted and the other opted to go National TV to tell a blatant lie.

Corruption - Kerik vs. Marc Rick.. Rudy helps put the "rich" guy away and (B) Clinton spings him.. Its Hillary's cattle futures, and its her documents under subpeona that can't be found.....oh wait..."these papers..on my desk..."

Terrorism - FALN clemency... Thats all anyone nationwide will need to know..and, what a sleezy motivation...that and bringing the Justice Dept down on NYPD ignoring any reasonable statistical comparison to Police Brutality in many Democrat controlled cities in America.

The Clintons are hardly friends of NY State during their years in the presidency, but they remain unchallenged.

It was Guiliani that was a party to contesting the line item veto when Bill Clinton was re-arranging the Medicare dollars, cutting NY State deeply and threw Moynihan into a fit..too late for that now..but that would've been juicy in the Senate race if Rudy hadn't dropped out.

[Tom_Turner]

[quote="hiss srq":b18b8]

I'm a bit miffed only a few days after the Dems are in they are talking about pulling out of Iraq [/quote:b18b8]

They won on that issue. Many of their constituents are not looking for an alternative policy on Iraq... they want to leave.. as in yesterday.

They are following their mandate.

It seems we're there right now enabling radical islamists - via a democratically elected govt - to kill whoever is left of the Iraqi population that might have the vaguest hope of forming any kind of society better than Sadam's.

If Bush/Cheney can't bite the bullet to liquidate Al Sadyr and send in 100.000 more troops to engage in the massive fighting (and killing) that would be neccesary, (which would be condemned both at home and abroad), and then years of rebuilding - after that - to deliver a govt that is going to look any better than Iran or Al Quida in outlook towards the West, what is the point of being there?

[Midnight Mike]

[quote="T-Bird76":59cb4][quote="hiss srq":59cb4]

I'm a bit miffed only a few days after the Dems are in they are talking about pulling out of Iraq

They won on that issue. Many of their constituents are not looking for an alternative policy on Iraq... they want to leave.. as in yesterday.

They are following their mandate.
[/quote:59cb4][/quote:59cb4]

Not exactly, in the days leading up to the elections, Sen. Reid, Sen. Schumer, & the Hon. Pelosi, all said that they were not to going to pull out of Iraq right away & wanted to look at different & "smarter" way to fight the war in Iraq.

Days after the election, withdrawl is tuning into a key word.

Just the other day you had the Hon. Kunich threatening to cut off financing for the troops to force us out of Iraq..

[Tom_Turner]

[quote="Tom_Turner":7fa85][quote="T-Bird76":7fa85][quote="hiss srq":7fa85]

I'm a bit miffed only a few days after the Dems are in they are talking about pulling out of Iraq

They won on that issue. Many of their constituents are not looking for an alternative policy on Iraq... they want to leave.. as in yesterday.

They are following their mandate.
[/quote:7fa85]

Not exactly, in the days leading up to the elections, Sen. Reid, Sen. Schumer, & the Hon. Pelosi, all said that they were not to going to pull out of Iraq right away & wanted to look at different & "smarter" way to fight the war in Iraq.

Days after the election, withdrawl is tuning into a key word.[/quote:7fa85][/quote:7fa85]

Absolutely Mike. Some subterfuge in there to be sure -

Have any of us heard the "smarter" way to fight the war? Of course not. Good question to ask before pulling the old lever.

Just happy rhetoric. Bush is "dumb"; we are smarter, so we have a smarter way of conducting the war and winning it and coming home faster..No explanation neccesary.

There isn't a smarter way, since we're reduced to being practically UN helmeted unwitting accomplices to a "govt" that is winking at the slaughter.

Thats why some Democrats are worried they won both houses. They might have to pay the price in 2008.

In way though..the neo cons (at least the relevant here) were pretty dumb. Bush considers it "racist" to suggest Iraqi democracy won't work..but guess who's ignorant of culture? Are we trying to win the hearts and minds of Al Sadyr and company? Might as well take Bin Laden's "truce" offer in that case.

Tom

[Midnight Mike]

Democrat, Kucinich Calls for Cutting Off Iraq War Funds
http://kucinich.us/

[Matt Molnar]

Poll out today says Hillary would soundly beat Giuliani among New York voters, 53%-39%, and she'd beat McCain 55%-36%. Giuliani would barely beat McCain head to head, 34%-33%. What does this mean? I don't think anything, really...Giuliani has been out of the mainstream eye ever since he left office. Hillary, on the other hand, is in the news several times a week. I think Giuliani's popularity would shoot up immediately once he got back into the spotlight.

[Midnight Mike]

Poll out today says Hillary would soundly beat Giuliani among New York voters, 53%-39%, and she'd beat McCain 55%-36%. Giuliani would barely beat McCain head to head, 34%-33%. What does this mean? I don't think anything, really...Giuliani has been out of the mainstream eye ever since he left office. Hillary, on the other hand, is in the news several times a week. I think Giuliani's popularity would shoot up immediately once he got back into the spotlight.

Across the United States, Sen. Clinton would lose to both McCain or Rudy. In fact, Sen. Clinton would barely squeek by an unamed Republican contender.

So, although Sen. Clinton may be popular in New York, across the United States, she would lose....


McCain has a 6-percentage point edge when the matchup includes Sen. Clinton, 45 percent to 39 percent, with 15 percent undecided. These results are in line with polling conducted previously; McCain has consistently outperformed Clinton in hypothetical matchups over the past two years.

The McCain-Giuliani ticket tops Clinton-Obama by 8-percentage points — 48 percent to 40 percent.[quote:4e8bd]
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,225578,00.html

[quote:4e8bd]In the Quinnipiac University poll's previously reported trial heats in Florida, perhaps the nation's most important swing state in a presidential election, Sen. Clinton has also trailed the equally well-known Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In a May 24 survey, Sen. Clinton trailed McCain 48 - 42 percent, and Giuliani 49 - 42 percent. [/quote:4e8bd][/quote:4e8bd]

[Matt Molnar]

Clinton and Obama might be the best the Dems have to offer right now, but Hillary is too smart to run with him. A woman president with a black vice president? Bill and Hill might claim to be in "down" with the black community, but they know that ticket would be laughed right into history. Not to mention his full name (almost) matches the names of our enemies in the current war: Barack Hussein Obama.

[Tom_Turner]

Poll out today says Hillary would soundly beat Giuliani among New York voters, 53%-39%, .

I thought that was NYC only.. maybe I read it wrong :( , or different poll...?

What does Dick Morris think?

[hiss srq]

I would consider voteing for obama depending on some issues but not likely. I just want that particular election to come already and knock Clinton out so I can stop sweating that this femanazi will turn us into the next communist state on the planet.