VOTERS, especially Republican voters, like executives when it comes to picking presidents. So why did they reject the man who is widely recognized as perhaps the best government executive of his generation? That’s the question of Rudy Giuliani’s failed presidential candidacy-one that took him from national frontrunner to dropout after his first big primary.
In the beginning, Giuliani’s task seemed impossible. Pro-choice, pro-gun control, and pro-gay civil unions, he was clearly a hard sell in Republican primaries where social conservatives play a prominent role. But Giuliani managed to project an image of strength on national-security issues, and he came up with a tax-cutting-and-economic-growth plan that impressed economic conservatives. He also made some measure of peace with social conservatives; after an initial period of indecision on how to present his positions, he wisely chose to just be himself, avoiding the flip-flopper label that would dog Mitt Romney.
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