Rudy Giuliani is the newly anointed Republican front-runner. The fact that a man on his third marriage with a history of infidelity, the occasional penchant for cross-dressing and gay friends among his inner circle could claim such a title in the party of Bush (as well as Dobson and Falwell) is hard to believe.
Giuliani's new status is confirmed by a recent Newsweek poll that found Giuliani leading John McCain by a whopping 25 percent among Republican voters. Giuliani was also the surprising runner-up behind Mitt Romney at this weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference, a kind of conservative Woodstock. Romney won thanks to an intensive courtship of party activists at the conference, while Giuliani took second without a similar effort.
Such a meteoric rise is of course a costly feat, as talking heads flap their jaws, jabbing their fingers animatedly at his personal life and endlessly asking whether a pro-choice New Yorker could possibly win the nomination. Although it may be hard to believe, I think he can; not only that, he can win the White House.
To date, Giuliani has struck a fine balance of appealing to social conservatives without appearing to appeal to social conservatives, thereby avoiding the embarrassing obeisance that seems to have gutted McCain's campaign and has made Romney's real abortion stance anyone's guess. Indeed, Giuliani seems to have struck a defiant New Yorker's attitude-he's unapologetic for his pro-choice stance but he's noted his personal opposition to the practice. He has continued to reiterate, however, that he would nominate Supreme Court justices similar to Roberts, Alito or Scalia. And if you happen to disagree with him? I hate resorting to clichés, but fugetaboutit, he's not changing to placate anyone.
His personal life may also prove to be less of an issue than many in the media might wish to believe. Past Republican presidential nominees, however, have rarely been saints. Reagan, for example, had been divorced and lacked (or at least did not exhibit) the sort of fervent public religiosity we seem to consider a presidential prerequisite. In fact, examining the Republican field at large, one finds Giuliani isn't the only one bearing imperfections: McCain and Gingrich (though not yet running, he hasn't explicitly ruled out a run either) have both had multiple marriages, while Romney's Mormonism continues to raise eyebrows. This isn't to say that Rudy's past doesn't matter-his opponents will take advantage of it if possible-merely that he isn't the only one vulnerable to such attacks.
Giuliani's supporters have also done a fine job of highlighting his conservative credentials, noting his accomplishments during his time as mayor of the Big Apple and deflecting criticisms from those who would see him as a New York liberal. After all, it was Giuliani whose innovative approach to policy succeeded in not only reducing New York City's bloated welfare rolls (including many recipients who weren't qualified to be receiving benefits) and introduced anti-crime policies, which achieved drastic reductions by first cutting down on smaller offenses. He also worked to resuscitate the city's sclerotic economy by cutting taxes while simultaneously introducing an unheard of degree of fiscal sanity at City Hall. In all, Giuliani achieved a record any conservative should be proud of and accomplished it in a city larger and more complex than many countries. More importantly, all of these achievements are the sort of common-sense measures that will be warmly received by independent as well as Republican voters.
I think it's clear that Rudy Giuliani's personal life shouldn't sink his presidential nomination; I think it's also clear that he possesses the requisite conservative credentials to win the nomination. And if the Democratic Party nominates Hillary Clinton, I think Giuliani not only matches up well but could easily win.
Hillary Clinton has thus far disallowed any discussion of her private life in the campaign, a mention of Miss Lewinsky or any of her husband's other peccadilloes has been greeted with cries of horror from her campaign. In a Clinton-Giuliani race, family life would no doubt make an appearance but both campaigns would have a vested interested in diverting the public's attention elsewhere.
Finally, there's his publicly demonstrated leadership. September 11th made Giuliani a household name and gave the country someone to look to in our hour of sorrow and doubt; both that image and that experience will doubtless serve him well as he campaigns. Democrats and many conservatives seem focused largely on his personal past, but in doing so lose sight of his record-at their own risk.
Gill Stevens is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Thursday.
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