Our Only Hope?

Ah, my next victim, Rudy. The frontrunner in the Republican camp. I think that it's safe to say that either he or Romney will be the candidate. Sure McCain is still holding on by a string but I don't think he will make it. Rudy Giuliani has many strong points including the fact that he is a moderate. This leads many to believe that he is the only one who can beat Clinton. This thought ignores the fact that many on the right do not like him. There is even a movement among conservative christians to start up a third party in the case that Giuliani gets the candidacy for the republicans. This would be political suicide in my opinion but it is a possibility. Many evangelicals are begining to endorse Romney because of Giuliani's positions.

He is pro choice, pro gun control and simpathetic towards gay marriage. This doesn't sit well with hardline conservative voters. It bothers me much less so because there is little a president can do with regards to abortion other than appoint supreme court judges who might overturn Roe v. Wade and there is no reason to believe that he will appoint anyone different than any of the other republicans would. In New York he apparently lowered the number of abortions by advocating adoption and results are more important than perceptions.

Perhaps one of his biggest hurdles is his personal life. He's been married three times and apparently his last divorce was an ugly one. In stark contrast to Romney, his children don't apparently even talk to him anymore. He has tried to break this perception by showing how much he loves his current wife by pulling stunts like having his wife call while he's giving speaches.

All his weaknesses aside, I think he does have a good chance of beating Hillary. He is a moderate on many issues but on things like the war on terror and national security he is spot on, in my opinion. He has a reputation for getting things done as mayor and holds a pragmatic view rather than an ideological one. This I think will sit well with the people in the middle and I don't think the conservatives really would defect to a third party. Some would but I hope most wouldn't. I like the ideology of Romney but Giuliani may be our only hope.