The past week has not been very kind to Rudy Giuliani. First he has officially lost his lead in the GOP primary as Fred Thompson has no surpassed him in the latest polls. Polls are meaningless, especially this early but the news gets worse for Rudy as he also lost two key advisers as well.
Former Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa was one of Rudy's most important endorsements in Iowa. However, Nussle was recently appointed by Bush to run the Office of Management and Budget which prohibits Nussle from being involved with the campaign. To make matters worse Thomas Ravenel, the South Carolina state treasurer and state director for Giuliani, was suspended from his position and indicted on charges of dealing cocaine.
Rudy has already all but abandoned Iowa and with this scandal I could easily see him skipping South Carolina as well. It's a dangerous strategy to pass over early primaries and he will have to do well in Florida to have any momentum going into Super Tuesday.
One more piece of bad news is that even if Rudy were to win the primary, it is looking more and more likely that he will face Mayor Bloomberg in the general election. Bloomberg officially left the GOP today and switched to an independent which opens the door for an independent run for the whitehouse. Having Bloomberg in the race cuts into Rudy's appeal because Bloomberg has been just as effective a mayor but without all the baggage. Plus they both appeal to moderate Republicans and independents.
I guess all presidential campaigns have their ups and downs but it looks like Rudy is getting the worst of it lately.
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7 comments:
That really breaks my heart.
This is going to be a really, really long election season.
With two new Republicanesque contenders, I wonder if Gore is seriously thinking about jumping in to spice up the Demoncratic side?
What's politics without a little bit of drama...
Jeff, what are your thoughts on Huckabee? He's really conservative, right? I read a comment from an organization that thinks he's about the only one who could beat Hilary. What's your opinion?
Bloomberg really isn't a Republican. Glad to see him go
Heather, I like Huckabee. He is a former Baptist preacher and he was an effective Governor in Arkansas. He actually reminds me of my boss in his style and manners. If you are looking for a true conservative, then he is your guy.
This is one link dealing with Bloomberg's illegal firearms purchase:
http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/110097
There are other stories that question whether or not he violated federal law by these straw purchases, but I haven't been able to find them yet.
..but you can’t hide.
If Ravenel is convicted of distribution of cocaine, he can serve as much as 20 years in prison. I would say that it is more likely that he will cut a “plea deal” to serve a short amount of time behind bars along with probation.
If Ravenel cuts a “plea deal”, in other words, “pleads guilty” then the Feds should insist that he roll over on a “Bigger Fish” If he does not roll over, then he should do some serious jail time with the rest of the “Cocaine Distributors”.
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