Why is the Giuliani camp smiling?

In Iowa, 3% of the vote. An improvement in New Hampshire, 9%. But back to 3% in Michigan. And another dismal, single-digit showing seems likely in South Carolina on Saturday.

That's the line so far for Rudy Giuliani in the Republican presidential race. If he was a baseball player at spring training with his beloved New York Yankees, his stats would have him headed to the deep, deep minor leagues. Yet Giuliani and his aides were actually pleased with what happened in the Michigan primary on Tuesday.

Mitt Romney's victory stalled the momentum John McCain was hoping to establish in the GOP race. And that keeps alive Giuliani's unique strategy for snaring his party's brass ring -- use a win in Florida on Jan. 29 to power to more victories -- and a clear path to the nomination -- on Feb. 5's mega-Tuesday.

It seems a stretch to many, but not all. Guiliani actually got some good press Wednesday -- most obviously from one of his hometown publications, New York Magazine.

In a piece headlined "Is Rudy a Mad Genius After All," writer John Heilemann posits that Giuliani actually was the "real winner" ...

coming out of Michigan (and with his 3% vote total).

Heilemann sums up that the Republican field "is exactly where Rudy's people believed (hoped, prayed) it would be at this point: in utter disarray. If he wins in Florida ... he will be in the catbird seat. Indeed, you could even argue that, despite having won nothing thus far, Giuliani is now the GOP front-runner again, albeit by default. Bizarre? Incomprehensible? Perverse? No doubt. But what better words to describe the man himself and the party he seeks to lead?"

Words to ponder.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Tim]

There are three viable candidates to run against the democrats: 1) Romney 2) McCain 3) Rudy.

Rudy should be the GOP nominee.

[Tannim]

Nope. If Rudy wins FL then the GOP race is in even further disarray with no clear frontrunner. If he doesn't do respectably and if he doesn't break into the top 4 he's done.

[jsoy]

I used to like and respect Rudy Giuliani. I don't feel that way any longer. I'm now seeing a sleazy side to him that I didn't see before. It appears he has some questionable close friends and associates, like Bernard Kerik. I find it hard to believe that Giuliani didn't have any idea of what was going on here.

I also was frankly, shocked, when I heard that Giuliani was using NYC taxpayer funds to hide his affair with his then mistress. And then it appears he was moving those funds around, in a sneaky way, to keep this affair secret. This just smells bad. And this isn't the behavior I want in a chief executive. We've had too much of this in public life.

Also, even though many people admired Giuliani for 9/11, what real experience does he have with foreign policy? True, he was mayor on that terrible day, but does that mean he really understands foreign policy or international relations? Will he do the right thing regarding other countries or will he just "shoot from the hip"?

However, it is true that Giuliani has made multiple millions from 9/11. I've read that he has marketed himself since that awful day as a "leadership" example and that he has taken millions from big corporations, including some questionable pharmaceutical firms. This makes me wonder if he's been exploiting the deaths of those people on 9/11 as a way to enrich himself.

A few months ago I considered myself a Giuliani supporter. I can no longer vote for him based on what I've now learned. Any alternative suggestions?

[Tim]

jsoy, if you lived in New York City like I do, Rudy's sleazy side wouldn't be news to you.