Well-connected public figures report that they have been told recently by Rudolph Giuliani that, as of now, he intends to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
The former mayor of New York was on top of last month’s national Gallup poll measuring presidential preferences by registered Republicans, with 29 percent. Sen. John McCain’s 24 percent was second, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich third at 8 percent. National polls all year have shown Giuliani running either first or second to McCain, with the rest of the presidential possibilities far behind.
I don’t know how this fits with my notion that Pataki has been seeking anointment, but it would slide rather nicely into securing a sixth consecutive Bush-Clinton term. Nominating an East Coast anti-gun, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual “Republican” – a breed better known in the rest of the country as “Democrats” – is one sure way to inspire conservative rebellion and ensure Hillary’s victory.
It will be interesting to see how the mainstream conservative commentariat will attempt to explain away this sacrificial lamb strategy should it come to pass. Will they go with the usual “secretly conservative at heart” line or the neocons’ preferred “national security uber alles” approach?