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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Giuliani Fell From Lead to Also-Ran Among Republicans Talk about white-washing an artifically hyped debacle..... Guiliani NEVER was a part of anyone's choice. He was hyped from the beginning by the media just to see what the sheeple would bite on. Oops, they ain't gonna go for this, so, let's make someone else the front runner. Let's see, whose safe? Ummm..... for the banksters...... Wed Jan 30, 8:21 AM ET Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Rudy Giuliani's plunge from front- runner to also-ran was fueled by a combination of strategic, ideological and personal troubles. The former New York mayor ignored or played down the first half-dozen Republican contests to concentrate on Florida, where he came in a distant third last night behind Senator John McCain of Arizona and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. His rivals were all lifted by victories in the early primary states, with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee winning the Iowa caucuses, McCain winning the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, and Romney placing first in the Michigan primary as well as the Wyoming and Nevada caucuses. Their successes pushed Giuliani from the headlines. ``Voters are paying an inordinate amount of attention to this campaign,'' said Republican consultant Eddie Mahe, who isn't aligned with any campaign. ``You cannot take yourself out of that river of communications and keep moving.'' Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times polls over the last four months chart his precipitous drop. In an Oct. 19-22 survey Giuliani was the choice of 32 percent of Republicans nationwide, more than double the support of his nearest rival, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who has since withdrawn. In a Nov. 30-Dec. 3 poll his support fell to 23 percent, still leading the field with a smaller margin. By the Jan. 18-22 poll he had fallen to fourth place with 12 percent support. Past Tense Giuliani all but conceded the presidential race in a speech last night in Orlando, speaking of his campaign in the past tense. ``I'm proud that we chose to stay positive and to run a campaign of ideas,'' Giuliani told supporters. ``In an era of personal attacks, negative ads, and cynical spin, we ran a campaign that was uplifting.'' Time magazine, without citing the source of its information, reported that Giuliani is getting ready to drop out of the race and endorse McCain today. Romney's campaign downplayed the significance of a Giuliani endorsement, saying that it wouldn't translate into a point-for- point vote transfer to McCain. Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said he didn't think it would ``make that much of a difference.'' Giuliani, 63, initially centered his campaign on national security and his ability to keep the country safe, citing his performance as mayor of New York after terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Senator Joe Biden, a Delaware Democrat, once said of Giuliani: ``There's only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun, a verb, and 9/11.'' That foundation was chipped away by some New York firefighters, who trailed Giuliani around the country, questioning whether he really acted with valor at Ground Zero. `Man That Ran' ``This is a man that ran, he left the real heroes down there,'' Jim Riches, a retired New York deputy fire chief, said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. ``All he did that day was tell America everything will be all right and we'll get through.'' Giuliani was never able to make the case that he was better on national security than McCain, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute of Public Opinion, based in Poughkeepsie, New York. The two men also competed for independent, more moderate voters, he said. ``When McCain came off the canvas after a difficult fall, that took away a lot of the rationale'' for Giuliani's candidacy, Miringoff said. Giuliani's position on social issues such as abortion caused him problems among the Christian evangelicals that comprise such a large share of Republican voters. He tried to address those objections by promising to appoint judges likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Abortion Rights It didn't work. Richard Land, a leader of the 16-million- member Southern Baptist Convention, based in Nashville, Tennessee, said he couldn't vote for Giuliani or anyone else who backed abortion rights. ``If Giuliani is the nominee, there will be a third-party effort,'' Land said in an October interview with Bloomberg Television. Even though many Christian evangelicals are upset with McCain over his authorship of the 2002 law banning corporate, union and unlimited individual donations to the political parties, he opposes abortion rights. ``I don't think anyone is going to walk out of the convention if McCain gets the nomination,'' said Washington- based Republican consultant John Feehery, who isn't aligned with any candidate. Conflicts of Interest Giuliani also was forced on the defensive over his business dealings and his personal life. The thrice-married Giuliani was hurt by revelations that taxpayers paid for the trips he made to visit the woman who would later become his third wife, Judith Nathan, and that they also paid for detectives to guard her before she married the mayor. During the campaign, he faced questions about possible conflicts of interest concerning his law firm, Houston-based Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, and his New York-based consulting firm, Giuliani Partners LLC. He was paid $5.3 million by both firms in 2006, according to his financial-disclosure form. Bracewell formerly represented Citgo Petroleum Corp., the Houston-based oil company controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Giuliani championed construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound that opponents say would be vulnerable to a terrorist attack. And his law firm landed $3 million worth of pet projects, known as earmarks, in defense-spending legislation even as Giuliani criticized such projects. To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net . Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
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