Rudi: from GOP no-hoper to go-to guy
Updated on 19 September 2007
He's the mayor who cleaned up New York before the tragedy of 9/11 turned him into America's mayor. Now Rudi Giuliani is after the most powerful job in the land.
And - according to most polls - he's the favourite to win the Republican nomination for next year's presidential race.
On paper he shouldn't have a hope in hell.
He's pro-choice, he's backed gun control, he believes in gay rights. No clean cut family values here: Rudi's been married three times - his second wife found out he wanted to divorce her when he broke the news at a televised press conference.
He had to drop out of the 2000 Senate race against Hillary Clinton because of prostrate cancer.
No-one has ever made the giant leap from City hall to White House in one fell swoop.
Ruthless, hard-core, even a bit of a bully - wouldn't you rather have him in charge? It's not that he's the anti-Bush - more a kind of uber-Bush, the kind of leader many Republicans wish Bush might have grown into.
His team is inexperienced - he's got a limited funding base. There hasn't been a President from the North East since Kennedy. And Mayor - you're no Jack Kennedy.
But despite all of this - it seems Giuliani has become the go-to guy for Republicans eager for change. Even the much vaunted announcement by Fred Thompson has failed to dent his lead.
So is it all about 9/11? Is he, as the New York Times has it a man whose campaign - and resurrected career - "is built atop the rubble of the twin towers"?
In many ways - yes. 9/11 is the mantra of his campaign: this is the man who rose to the biggest challenge of all, who has proved himself fit to be America's commander in chief.
Ruthless, hard-core, even a bit of a bully - wouldn't you rather have him in charge? It's not that he's the anti-Bush - more a kind of uber-Bush, the kind of leader many Republicans wish Bush might have grown into.
You can almost hear them thinking it: this guy will stand up for the United States. He knows all about winning the war on terror.
He's already shown his ability to win over a crowd - this is a man who made eight million bucks last year from public speaking engagements alone.
Except, of course, that's not the whole story.
For every tale of moral heroism, there's talk of a man who didn't know where to stop - whose aggressive police tactics sparked racial tensions across New York, and allegations of excessive force.
He's been accused of peddling influence and cronyism - and excessive secrecy. Even now, his position on civil liberties is less than transparent.
Even the myth of the 9/11 hero has been attacked: earlier this year the firefighters union accused him of delaying a crucial radio system that could have saved many lives. And, they claim, he should never have based the emergency command centre in one of the towers.
But little of this criticism is resonnating much beyond New York. To most of red-state America Rudi remains a national hero - even a legend.
So he's consistently polling well among Republicans. His often centrist views means he's also polling well against any of the Democratic front-runners.
In fact - the Giuliani-Clinton clash manque has already begun - with a series of bitter attacks over the weekend - Rudi accusing Hillary of taking part in a "character assassination" on the US commander in Iraq, General Petraeus - Clinton's team accusing him of "mudslinging" and dragging the campaign into the gutter.
Ah, some good old negative politics at last. A toast to Mayor Giuliani. Perhaps this is the election battle we've all been waiting for.
