Run, Rudy, Run?

‘I ‘M pro-choice, I’m pro-gay rights,” Rudolph Giuliani told reporters in 1999 after a visit to then-presidential candidate George W. Bush. “There are people in the Republican party who don’t agree with that.” Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City at the time but not yet the 9/11 hero he would become, might also have added that he is pro-gun control, and that there are people in the Republican party who don’t agree with that, either.

Taken together, those three positions would not seem a recipe for electoral success in the Republican party, at least not outside of New York. But fast forward seven years, to February 2006. Giuliani has not changed his views on abortion, gays, or guns. And yet a Gallup poll, seeking to identify frontrunners in the race for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, found that 33 percent of registered Republicans surveyed nationwide said they would be “most likely” to support . . . Rudolph Giuliani. That put the former mayor five points ahead of Sen. John McCain, 26 points ahead of Sen. George Allen, 27 points ahead of Sen. Bill Frist, and 30 points ahead of Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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‘I ‘M pro-choice, I’m pro-gay rights,” Rudolph Giuliani told reporters in 1999 after a visit to then-presidential candidate George W. Bush. “There are people in the Republican party who don’t agree with that.” Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City at the time but not yet the 9/11 hero he would become, might also have added that he is pro-gun control, and that there are people in the Republican party who don’t agree with that, either.

Taken together, those three positions would not seem a recipe for electoral success in the Republican party, at least not outside of New York. But fast forward seven years, to February 2006. Giuliani has not changed his views on abortion, gays, or guns. And yet a Gallup poll, seeking to identify frontrunners in the race for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, found that 33 percent of registered Republicans surveyed nationwide said they would be “most likely” to support . . . Rudolph Giuliani. That put the former mayor five points ahead of Sen. John McCain, 26 points ahead of Sen. George Allen, 27 points ahead of Sen. Bill Frist, and 30 points ahead of Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.