Giuliani Time

No wire story yet (UPDATE: Here it is) but the networks are reporting that Rudy Giuliani has entered the 2008 presidential race. Which means the official Republican field contains:

- Rudy Giulani
- John McCain (senator from Arizona)
- Sam Brownback (senator from Kansas)
- Ron Paul (libertarian congressman from Texas)
- Tom Tancredo (congressman from Colorado)
- Duncan Hunter (congressman from California)
- Tommy Thompson (former governor of Wisconsin)
- Mitt Romney (former governor of Massachusetts)
- Mike Huckabee (former governor of Arkansas)
- Jim Gilmore (former governor of Virginia)

Without a doubt, the party's strongest field since 1980. And if the election were held today, none of them would win.

Tim Cavanaugh's 2005 review of the best Rudy biography is this hour's required reading. Coming up next: Giuliani gives an exclusive interview to Sean Hannity (tonight at 9) and Chris Matthews literally explodes from an overdose of testosterone and bliss (sometime after 7).

Comments

[rdkraus]

At least there's one I could vote for.

[Brian Defferding]

Ron Paul's got my vote nevertheless.

[joe]

Are the Republicans front-loading their primaries like the Dems are doing?

I hope so. As a Democrat, I really hope Guiliani locks up the nomination before his inevitable, televised flame-out.

Two guys with a camera phone and a smart mouth, and we get to see America's Mayor turn into the Hulk.

[panurge]

Speaking as someone who is not a member of either party, and has no intention of joining either one anytime soon, I think the GOP primary field is more diverse in terms of political views than any other I have seen: Guiliani vs. Brownback, Hagel (still a possibility) vs. McCain, Paul vs. everyone else.

I look forward to seeing the primary debates on TV and how the candidates will rip one another apart. At the risk of sounding like an overenthusiastic sportscaster, this looks like it will be a bloody fight for the nomination.

[Bhh]

Dude's to the left of Hillary on the abortion/ghey stuff. So I still don't see how he makes it past the radical clerics.

[Troy]

I wonder how much of the global warming in 2007 and 2008 can be attributed to incredible amount of bloviating from all these presidential candidates?

[jb]

Dude's an authoritarian with one tool in the toolbox. He should find another city to be mayor of, not President.

[joe]

And hey, just because it feels good to give a big ol' man hug to a guy in a fisherman's knit sweater, doesn't make a man gay.

Right, guys?

[joe]

Uh, guys?

[David]

That depends on where Rudy's other hand is in that picture.

[John Norris Brown]

It'll be interesting to see if the paleos and the libertarians unite around Ron Paul. If so, he could make a run, although I doubt he'll stand much of a chance. Having both Hunter and Tancredo in the race will draw some paleos away from Paul, though.

Of the "major" candidates, Rudy would be my personal favorite, at the moment.

[Aresen]

It kinda looks like he's got a weapon stuck in the back of the guy with the white sweater.

One way of getting people to speak out for you, I guess.

[JasonL]

Ugh. Out of that crowd, Rudy I guess.

I was hoping for maybe Bayh from the Dems, but he was smart in not joining this circus.

My vote hinges on who will mess up healthcare the least and leave me alone on guns.

[Marcvs]

It'll be interesting to see if the paleos and the libertarians unite around Ron Paul. If so, he could make a run, although I doubt he'll stand much of a chance. Having both Hunter and Tancredo in the race will draw some paleos away from Paul, though.

All of which is immaterial because Paul would never get anywhere close to the nomination.

[TrickyVic]

For those who don't know, the guy in the white sweater is former NYPD Comish and Benard Kerick. You might know him from his failed bid to become head honcho of Homeland Security.

He plead guilty last year, something about the mob and remodeling his apartment.

[Brian24]

the party's strongest field since 1980.

Define "strongest." I mean, it's the biggest, but that's mainly because the Republicans have almost always had a consensus candidate since then ('84,'88,'00), sometimes with one spoiler to compete with ('92,'96).

I don't want to vote for any of these jokers.

[Treavor]

"Without a doubt, the party's strongest field since 1980. And if the election were held today, none of them would win."

This Left-wing websight rocks my socks of everyday!

[H-dawg]

"Vote for Douche Bag!"

"No, vote for Turd Sandwich!"

Just getting ready for the upcoming campaign.

[Topper]

"Tim Cavanaugh's 2005 review"

Wow! I'd forgotten what an uneducated self-important writer Tim Cavanaugh was. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane!

[David Weigel]

It's very strong. Three of the candidates have been stars since the mid-90s - McCain, Giuliani, and Thompson. In 1996, 2000 and 2004, McCain and Thompson might have been better candidates than the guys the party put up. They obviously had more experience than the guy the GOP nominated in those last two elections. Hell, Giuliani and Thompson have some of the most impressive records of any Republican governors or mayors.

Once you get past those guys, three of the candidates are bona fide leaders of wings of the party - Tancredo on immigration, Brownback on "compassionate conservatism," Paul on all things libertarian. Seriously, Paul is the most credentialed libertarian candidate for the nomination since... well, for a long time.

[joe]

"This Left-wing websight rocks my socks of everyday!"

I nominate this as the Official Right Wing Whine About Reason Being Too Hostile to Republicans, to be re-posted every time such a complaint is posted on any comment thread.

"This Left-wing websight rocks my socks of everyday!" is the new Corn Syrup.

[mediageek]

Wow.

First McKang, now Giuliani.

And thus the Republicans again show that they truly wish to alienate me.

[thoreau]

No, I think "There goes Weigal with his shilling" is the new Corn Syrup.

[joe]

I don't know, thoreau. "Left-wing websight?" "rocks my socks of everyday!"

It's got a cool, "All your base are belong to us" vibe going.

[thoreau]

Point taken, joe.

I'm bookmarking that comment.

[A Naughty Moose]

Treavor - impressive. Most impressive.

Do you happen to be giving a "meletary lawyer" (sic) a reach around right now?

joe is absolutely right - that should be an addition to the Drinking Game. Dr. T: do you still have the rules? We'll add a round of autoerotic asphyxiation for each mention like that, if that would be most appropriate. RPG can do that. Or if you get tangled up in the Noam Chomsky blowup doll that can happen, as well!

[Akira MacKenzie]

Regarding the pic, Giuliani is just looking for the right place the stick the knife into that man's back.

[jf]

A guy I used to think might have been an up-and-comer for 2008 for the Repubs is former Montana governor Marc Racicot. I guess he's mostly out of politics now, though.

[Jose Ortega y Gasset]

After Bush, almost any list of candidates has a certain appeal.

[Happy Jack]

After Bush, almost any list of candidates has a certain appeal.

The phone book would produce ecstasy for me.

But I would enjoy Rudy paying a visit to Bob Jones U.

[sfletcher]

Without a doubt, the party's strongest field since 1980. And if the election were held today, none of them would win.

Unless the Dems nominate Hillary!...

Giuliani or McCain would win for sure- Romney(possibly a loser due to the 'underwear') or even a 'Pawlenty'('moderate', 'Executive experience', 'outsider', 'realist', blah, blah, blah...) would have an outside chance- Tancredo, Brownback, and Newt have no chance at all.

I still think that it's AlGore's race to lose...

[Eric the .5b]

Who is that poor guy that Rudy's about to use the Sleeper on?

[Triumph Santorum]

Without a doubt, the party's strongest field since 1980.

Strongest field...FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!!

[crimethink]

JasonL,

I don't see Rudy leaving you alone on guns.

[Pig Mannix]

And if the election were held today, none of them would win.

Don't know about that.

In any event, while Ron Paul will get my vote in the primaries, Giuliani will likely get it in the general.

He isn't the worst possible choice in a field of sorry candidates, all the way around. He'll get my vote not so much for what he is, but for what he isn't. He isn't a liberal, and he isn't a social conservative, and he isn't a complete asshole.

In times like these, that's about all you can reasonably expect.

[Again]

Jie trolled,

"I nominate..."

Shut up troll.

[Eric Dondero]

Already "Libertarians for Giuliani" is in the works.

The NY Times called him a "privatizing, budget-slashing Ayn Randian."

National Review compared him to libertarian hero Pim Fortuyn.

The London Times recently called him a "libertarian conservative."

I think we've never had a more high caliber libertarian-leaning candidate for President of the United States since Jefferson.

Go Rudy!!!

[JD]

Aw, you guys are kidding, right? Giuliani is a 99-cent-store Mussolini. He happens to be OK with teh ghey, but that's not a sign of an accepting nature, it just happens not to be something that pushes his buttons. (And you can't get elected in NYC on an anti-gay platform anyway, so...) He is not remotely libertarian. Two words: cabaret law.

[P Brooks]

"Who is that poor guy that Rudy's about to use the Sleeper on?"

The next Attorney General of the United States.

[jf]

And, as we all know (and I'm not saying this as a fan, just pointing out reality) that nobody could possibly be worse than Giuliani. I guess this is going to be yet another election cycle of voting against, rather than voting for, someone for president, and nobody on this board (except for joe and David Weigel, if a Dem gets elected) being satisfied.

Unless Feingold repudiates CFR, and gets elected, in which case we all get to go home happy, until about 2 weeks after the inauguration.

Because nobody is ever happy after the inauguration.

[Steve M]

Mike Savage in 2008!
At least according to the blowhard's radio show tonight. Wouldn't THOSE be fun debates!

[matt]

I think we've never had a more high caliber libertarian-leaning candidate for President of the United States since Jefferson.

And I think Guliani has more in common with you than with Jefferson.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

"and we get to see America's Mayor turn into the Hulk"

I would love to see that, with the dome head and the comb-over in the back. My only question is, would Rudy be a wimpy Bill Bixby Hulk, or an earth-shaking Savage Hulk?

But let's be honest... you got some scary characters on your side, too. Get Rodham pissed off? She would be on you like an Alien brood queen.

[Robert]

Eric Dondero, isn't there enough in Giuliani's history as fed att'y and NYC mayor to demonstrate to you how silly the appellation "Ayn Randian" is when applied to him? The only budgets he'll slash are those of opponents he wants to punish. Give him the opp'ty to install his man to head a dept., no way he'd cut that dept.'s budget.

You're right, Pig Mannix, he isn't a liberal, he isn't a social conservative (on both counts -- he's anti-social and not conservative). But he is an asshole, as much so as McCain but with a better sense of humor. On policy, McCain is bad, but there are some policy areas in which I have insufficient evidence of his badness, while I already know Giuliani is bad on those things.

[Grand Chalupa]

Can someone tell me why Guilliani is Mussolini?

He's a free market believer and a non-theocrat. Considering he had to be mayor of freakin New York he's probably more fiscally conservative then he's been in the past.

Why shouldn't we be praying that this guy wins over Hillary, Edward, McCain or Obama? Somebody please make the case that he's not the best candidate for libertarians, taking into account that Paul would be lucky to get two percent of the vote.

[Herb Schaffler]

The latest poll since he has formally announced his candidacy shows him rising above McCain at a wide margin. He would probably put New York in the Republican column in the general election. Although not perfect, I like him compared to the other candidates with the exception of Ron Paul. He is pro-choice on abortion, more tolerant of gays, more open immigration. I don't like his hawkishness on foreign policy, but I don't think he is quite as bad as McCain in that respect. I don't like his position on gun control either, but all in all he is not such a bad choice for libertarians. This is coming from me, a person who used to not like him because of what he did to Michael Milken.

[Greg]

I went to Ron Pauls congressional web site and he is pro-life. What the hell kind of libertarian is that? It's not OK to steal weath but forced parenthood is just fine.

[Herb Schaffler]

I feel that Ron Paul might be moving more in the direction of being a paleoconservative, if he isn't already because of his pro-life stance on abortion and his hard line on immigration. Still, because he is free market, antiwar, and anti drug war, he's my first choice. Unfortunately for me, there is nobody running on the "Herb Schaffler" platform.

[ellipsis]

I see Mike Huckabee as the dark horse for the GOP nomination. He's got all the attibutes that conservative primary voters love.

[Herb Schaffler]

Mainly, I want the Republicans to run a candidate that can beat Hillary

[joe]

Herb writes: "He would probably put New York in the Republican column in the general election."

I don't buy it. I see him as William Weld, the popular Republican ex-gov of Massachusetts who lost a Senate race to John Kerry.

The overwhelmingly Democratic constituency was willing to put a "moderate Republican" in charge, only because they wanted him to check the all-powerful Democratic machine. In races of national significance, New York is still deep blue.

[Chris Peterson]

I believe you can make a reasonable libertarian argument for Pro-Lifers. They believe fetuses are human and should be protected against violence from others. Would you allow a new born baby to be aborted? An 18-year old teenager? An eight-month fetus? It's all shades of gray.

[JD]

OK, Giuliani fans, tell me what he did in NYC that shows how firmly free-market he is. I won't hold my breath.

Although I probably shouldn't get riled up about this anyway. He has only a faint chance of getting the nomination, and none of winning the general election, IMO. His pro-abortion-rights, pro-gay, anti-gun views will not sit well with many Republicans, and his law-n-order stance will not sit well with many Democrats. Plus, he's got a weird foreign name, and we like our presidents to have good old Anglo-Saxon names.

[Rhywun]

OK, Giuliani fans, tell me what he did in NYC that shows how firmly free-market he is. I won't hold my breath.

Not a fan, exactly, but there's some interesting stuff here. And keep in mind that Giuliani was utterly reviled by the Left so he must have been doing something "right". I don't know if he's electable... but he'd probably steal a lot of votes from the Democrats if they were interesting in doing that.

[Eric Dondero]

I hope the good folks at Reason will permit me this one minor plug. If anyone here is interested in helping me to form a "Libertarians for Giuliani" effort please contact me, either at my email or website.

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming.

[Grand Chalupa]

I hope the good folks at Reason will permit me this one minor plug. If anyone here is interested in helping me to form a "Libertarians for Giuliani" effort please contact me, either at my email or website.

I'm interested. I'm bad with computers and have no money or experience, but I promise to do what I can!

On an unrelated note, your site lists Jon Stewart as a libertarian. What's the source for that?

[Herb Schaffler]

"none of winning the general election"

Every poll I've seen where he is matched up against every major Democratic candidate, including Hillary, shows him winning. The problem is getting past the religious right in the Republican Party, but even the most recent poll with a matchup against McCain shows him handlily winning. In the general election, he would take New York which would be a big boost in winning the general election.

[Eric Dondero]

Grand Chalupa, please contact me at [e-mail]. I don't want to use Reason's property here to discuss "Libertarians for Rudy."

Source on Jon Stewart: His response to Bill Kirstol on his show in December saying he was a "downtown libertarian." It was reported here at the Reason.com site too.