John, your pro-Fred, contra-Rudy argument is a good one. But I don’t think it’s at all sure that a McCain meltdown hurts Rudy. McCain’s strength as a candidate in theory was his standing as a strong leader on war and terror issues. That is precisely Rudy’s appeal. If he goes away, I think it’s entirely possible that Rudy picks up much, if not most, of McCain’s support. Unquestionably, though, if Thompson runs a brilliant campaign that stresses these themes, he can dent Rudy’s appeal. What we know at this moment is that Rudy had a major stumble a few months ago and managed to get his mojo back. We don’t know yet how Fred is going to do under pressure.
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John Podhoretz is the editor of Commentary.
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