Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign, 2008
Encyclopedia
Rudy Giuliani
’s 2008 presidential campaign began following the formation of the Draft
Giuliani movement in October 2005. The next year, Giuliani opened an exploratory committee
and formally announced in February 2007 that he was actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican Party
.
At the onset of the campaign, Senator John McCain
was viewed as the front-runner to win the Republican nomination. However, Giuliani had held a significant lead in the nationwide polls by January 2007. McCain's candidacy soon faltered, and throughout 2007, Giuliani maintained his lead in both national polls and fundraising. Political observers predicted that Giuliani's position would fall, either due to Republican base voters discovering his liberal positions on certain social issues, his personality, management style or the entrance of former Senator Fred Thompson into the race. Giuliani did not campaign actively in the early voting states, hoping to simply survive in these states, and focused instead on the later, larger states. He campaigned in Florida throughout the primary season, hoping a win in the state's primary
on January 29, 2008, would give him enough momentum to win the primaries on Super Duper Tuesday (February 5), where he had also campaigned heavily.
After finishing third in the Florida primary, Giuliani's campaign indicated he would withdraw from the race. On January 29, 2008, Giuliani exited the race and endorsed the eventual Republican nominee John McCain.
by President Ronald Reagan
. He held the position until 1989, when he ran his first campaign for Mayor of New York. He lost the race but won four years later, and served as the city's mayor from 1994 to 2001. As mayor, he was best known for his leadership role during the September 11 attacks, when he coordinated and managed the immediate emergency response, earning him the title as Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2001. He was also believed to be "tough on crime" and was often credited with the reduction in offenses that occurred during his tenure in office. Giuliani briefly ran for U.S. Senate in New York to fill the vacancy left by the retiring Daniel Patrick Moynihan
in 2000, but was forced to withdraw from the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although he held traditional views on defense and economics, Giuliani was considered socially liberal, holding pro-choice
views on abortion, supporting same-sex civil unions and embryonic stem cell
research. As mayor, the abortion rate in New York City dropped by 16% in comparison to the 12% drop nationally; adoptions raised by 133%.
A draft movement
began in late 2005 to convince Giuliani to run for President of the United States in 2008. "Draft Rudy Giuliani for President, Inc." filed with the Federal Election Commission
(FEC), and became the first federal committee formed with the sole purpose of encouraging Giuliani to run. During this time, pro-life
groups, such as the Republican National Coalition for Life
, had already announced their intention to oppose Giuliani, because of his stance on abortion. However, evidence suggested that even among those voters, he enjoyed some support for his possible run. Some social conservatives contended that Giuliani's emphasis on lowering the abortion rate, was a pragmatic pro-life view. Among the overall public, Giuliani was perceived to be a moderate
. An August 2006 Rasmussen Reports
poll found that 36% of the American public identified the potential candidate as a moderate, while 29% identified him as a conservative
and 15% as a liberal.
Early polls showed Giuliani with one of the highest levels of name recognition and support, and was considered a front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination.
Throughout 2006, rumors circulated regarding a possible Giuliani presidential campaign, abetted by hints from the former mayor himself. Over the Independence Day
holiday weekend in July 2006, Giuliani declared that he would run for president in 2008 if he could raise sufficient funds. On November 13, 2006, Giuliani announced during a leadership conference in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
that he had taken the first step toward a potential 2008 White House bid by forming the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., allowing him to raise money for national travel and for a Presidential campaign.
, firmly stating: "Yes, I'm running." No Italian American
had ever been elected president, and Giuliani's run was the most notable by a member of the ethnic group. (The only Italian American to be a major-party national ticket nominee was Geraldine Ferraro
, the 1984 Democratic Party nominee for vice-president.)
, Sam Alito, Antonin Scalia
, and Anthony Kennedy
(all Ronald Reagan
appointees, former colleagues of his in the Reagan Justice Department or both).
According to a Gallup Poll taken February 9–11 2007, responders who supported Giuliani were asked why they supported him. The results showed that 13% of supporters did so because of Giuliani's strong leadership and 53% did so because of leadership related topics such as time as mayor and handling of 9/11. Another poll taken by Marist showed that 42% of Giuliani supporters believed that leadership is the most important quality for a candidate, compared to 34% of McCain supporters who believed the same.
In February 2007, the International Association of Fire Fighters
issued a letter accusing Giuliani of "egregious acts" against the 343 firemen who had died in the September 11th attacks. The letter asserted that Giuliani rushed to conclude the recovery effort once gold and silver had been recovered from World Trade Center vaults and thereby prevented the remains of many victims from being recovered: "Mayor Giuliani's actions meant that fire fighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero
forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills Landfill
." The Giuliani camp stated that the union was politically motivated from tough contract negotiations from Giuliani's second term as mayor and quoted a retired firefighter, Lee Ielphi (a father of 9-11 victim who was called to duty as a firefighter that day), saying "Firefighters have no greater friend and supporter than Rudy Giuliani." The union denied political motivation for the criticism.
President and Chief Executive Officer
of Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine and former perennial Presidential candidate Steve Forbes
announced his endorsement of Giuliani on March 27, 2007. He cited the economic platform and leadership of the candidate in his reasoning for support. "I am honored to support Rudy Giuliani for President, As Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani showed how exercising fiscal discipline, including tax cuts, lowers deficits, spurs economic growth, and increases revenue. It is time the rest of the country benefit from a true fiscal conservative leader who gets real results." Forbes was named National Campaign Co-Chair and Senior Advisor for the campaign following his endorsement.
Giuliani and the nine other Republican presidential contenders participated in the first MSNBC 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
. In the non-scientific six part MSNBC online vote following the debate, Giuliani finished in 3rd place (15%).
Giuliani portrayed himself as the candidate who could beat Hillary Clinton in the general election by being competitive in traditional blue states such as New York
, New Jersey
, Connecticut
, and Rhode Island
. A May 10, 2007 Quinnipiac
poll put Giuliani ahead of Hillary Clinton, 48% to 42% in Connecticut.
Giuliani participated at the May 15, 2007 GOP debate in South Carolina
where the notable exchange occurred when the former Mayor challenged a statement made by Congressman Ron Paul
. Paul claimed that the United States' presence in the Middle East over the past decade incited hatred towards the United States among many Middle Easterners and provided terrorists with extra incentive to commit the September 11 attacks:
The debate was sponsored by Fox News. News Corporation
, the parent company of Fox News, is a client of the Bracewell & Giuliani
law firm. Accuracy in Media
editor Cliff Kincaid charged after the debate that this represented a conflict of interest, and that Fox News moderators Chris Wallace
and Wendell Goler
and post-debate interviewer Sean Hannity
failed to ask Giuliani pertinent follow-up questions regarding the Ron Paul exchange about the causes of the September 11 attacks.
In May, influential Christian conservative leader James Dobson
, wrote that he could not fathom Giuliani's stance on the abortion issue and he would not vote for him if he were the Republican presidential nominee. He also cited Giuliani's three marriages and the former mayor's support for civil unions for gays as reasons why he could not support the candidate. Dobson wrote, "I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision."
According to the Federal Elections Commission, Giuliani raised $18,029,974 in the first quarter of 2007, second to Mitt Romney
among Republicans and fourth overall. Out of that money he spent only $6,080,239. Among that money he raised the second-most from Wall Street
of all presidential candidates, with $1.8 million raised.
. After beginning to answer a question related to a comment that a Catholic bishop had made, comparing him to Pontius Pilate
for his views on abortion, lightning struck and took out his microphone feed multiple times. Giuliani joked about the situation stating:
On June 11, 2007, Giuliani released "Twelve Commitments to the American People" that he wants to accomplish if he is elected President; these were intended to become the centerpieces of his campaign. Two days later, he released an expanded version of the twelve commitments, with more detailed goals for each one.
Jake Tapper
of ABC News
described them as a "a laundry list of generally conservative positions on fiscal discipline, tax-cutting and anti-terrorism plans."
In June 2007, Giuliani drew some criticism for dropping out of the August Iowa Straw Poll. Some Republican officials felt the move could be seen as "dissing Iowa." In response, a man in a chicken suit, known as the Iowa Chicken
, began demonstrating at Giuliani's appearances in Iowa. Despite this, Giuliani maintained that he was still planning on competing in the Iowa Caucus
. Some political observers have opined that the Straw Poll results are bought by campaigns.
Polls taken in June showed that Giuliani's Iowa support had dropped slightly from the mid-20s to 15% - though this may have been due to the exposure of Fred Thompson rather than his dropping out of the Iowa Straw Poll. The same month, a poll of New York voters revealed that a majority of New York City voters disapproved of him, while Giuliani's favorable rating among New York Republicans was 76%.
Giuliani had emerged as the frontrunner after overtaking John McCain
in the polls. With the exposure and eventual entrance of Fred Thompson into the field, Giuliani's poll numbers began to drop. But he held on to his status as frontrunner. According to the CBS News Poll taken June 26–28, Giuliani held the lead over Thompson 34% to 21%.
In July, the Associated Press
reported that Giuliani was focusing his time on more populated states with more delegates, such as California
and Florida
, rather than primary battleground states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Indeed Sam Brownback
, a lower-tier candidate had more staff in Iowa than Giuliani did. Some political analysts called it a risky strategy that had never been attempted before by a Republican presidential candidate. In any case, Giuliani had never grown used to the small-scale, retail politics that Iowa and New Hampshire campaigning demanded, preferring instead to travel in a large entourage and look for media opportunities. On August 11, 2007 the Ames Straw Poll
was held. Mitt Romney
led with 31.6 percent; Thompson received 1.4 percent; Giuliani received 1.3 percent.
Giuliani unveiled his health care plan on July 31, 2007 which proposed a tax deduction
(not a tax credit
)
of up to $15,000 for families and up to $7,500 for individuals who purchase private individual health insurance policies.
Giuliani wrote about his plan on August 3, 2007 in an article to the Boston Globe. In it he stated that taxes should not be raised to provide more health care but instead lowered for "individual empowerment". He talked about the creation of a tax-free Health Savings Account
that would allow individuals and small businesses to stock up on health insurance and in effect lower rates.
In August, Giuliani claimed that he "was at Ground Zero
as often, if not more, than most workers." This angered some NY Fire and Police personnel. A New York Times study a week later found that—while his appointment logs were unavailable for the six days immediately following the attacks—he spent a total of 29 hours over three months at the site. This contrasted with recovery workers at the site who spent this much time at the site in two to three days. However, Giuliani scaled back in his claims recognizing that he didn't mean to say it exactly as it came out,
Giuliani declined to discuss his religion when asked if he considered himself a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic" at a town hall meeting in Iowa on August 7, 2007. He believes this is a personal matter and that there shouldn't be a religious test for public office. He would explain further stating:
Giuliani received another personal question at a public appearance in Derry, New Hampshire
on August 16, when he was asked "[H]ow you could expect the loyal following of Americans when you are not getting it from your own family?" He replied, "I love my family very, very much and will do anything for them.... The best thing I can say is kind of, 'Leave my family alone, just like I'll leave your family alone.'"
Later in August, the campaign hired Scott Howell & Company, headed by Heath Thompson who as George W. Bush
's campaign director in South Carolina in the 2000 election
helped the president win the state by eleven points. The company is led by Scott Howell
, the same consultant that produced the controversial "Harold, call me" advertisement against Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.
that critics deemed racially insensitive but helped Bob Corker
win the senate race. The firm has also represented the winning campaigns of John Thune
of South Dakota, Norm Coleman
of Minnesota, Jim DeMint
of South Carolina, Saxby Chambliss
of Georgia and Kay Bailey Hutchison
of Texas. Also representing the Giuliani camp as consultants are, Chris Mottola and Associates, BrabenderCox
and Crossroads Media.
In the second quarter, Giuliani revealed that he raised $17 million, first among Republicans and third overall behind Barack Obama
and Hillary Clinton.
stating that he would create programs in the mold of COMPSTAT
which he developed as mayor, to fight terrorism and promote border security, calling the programs TerrorSTAT and BorderSTAT. Giuliani also stated that he supported a ID card system for the government to keep track of information on immigrants to help eliminate illegal immigration
and crime. He touted his experience in law enforcement stating, "I don't think there's been a president since Teddy Roosevelt that's had as much experience with policing as I've had."
Giuliani wrote an essay speaking about the need for changes in the State Department and a "revolution in diplomatic affairs". The essay entitled "Toward a Realistic Peace" recognizes the need for a return to the policies of the Eisenhower Administration, praising it as the last coherent policy-making and policy-executing system in Washington. The essay criticizes the Clinton Administration stating,"We have responded forcefully to the Terrorists' War on Us, abandoning a decade long — and counterproductive — strategy of defensive reaction in favor of a vigorous offense." Giuliani stresses that diplomacy should be an important facet of foreign policy but cannot be overused.
The Giuliani campaign paid for an ad in the New York Times published September 14, 2007. Its aim was to counter an ad published by the left-wing website MoveOn.org the previous day calling General
David Petraeus
"General Betray Us". Giuliani's ad also attacked Hillary Clinton for not denouncing MoveOn.org's ad and questioned her statements about General Petraeus' report to Congress on Iraq. Highlighted was the statement made by Clinton about "the willing suspension of disbelief". The ad was completed with a statement by Giuliani saying, "These times call for statesmanship, not politicians spewing political venom."
On September 21, 2007, numerous news agencies reported on Giuliani's interruption by, presumably, a phone call from his wife
during a publicized National Rifle Association
speech. Shortly thereafter a vast array of Internet blogs criticized the call as being a phony political gimmick. A source from within Giuliani's camp said, "what you saw today was a candidate in a spontaneous moment on the campaign trail." While Jeff Barker, a campaign spokesman confirmed, "the call was not planned." The official stance from Giuliani was not concrete, as during the same day Mitt Romney
's political camp revealed a prior video wherein June, he had again left his cell phone on and received another call from his wife.
According to the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Giuliani has taken approximately 40 calls during speeches. A fact checker piece by The Washington Post
surveyed other reports of such calls and concluded, "This is a puzzling one. Without more information, it is difficult to divine Giuliani's true motivations for taking these calls."
In September, reports surfaced of a coordinated grassroots campaign "$9.11 for Rudy," which attempted to solicit $9.11 in the form of donations. One of their supporters, Abraham Sofaer, attempted to hold a fundraiser for Giuliani during the "National House Party Night", and drew criticism. Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd called the theme "unconscionable, shameless and sickening." However, Giuliani's campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella stated, "These are two volunteers who acted independently of and without the knowledge of the campaign, their decision to ask individuals for that amount was an unfortunate choice."
Perhaps because of Giuliani's frontrunner status, some national leaders of the Christian right
including James Dobson, Richard Viguerie
, Tony Perkins
and Morton Blackwell
, attended a meeting of the Council for National Policy
in September 2007, at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. At this meeting, they decided that they would consider supporting a third-party candidate for president if a pro-choice candidate were to win the Republican nomination. The CNP's official statement read, "If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate, we will consider running a third-party candidate."
By the end of September 2007, most polls showed Giuliani to have more support than any of the other declared Republican candidates, with only Senator Thompson and Governor Romney showing greater support in some state polls. Specifically, state-by-state polls for the 2008 Republican nomination showed that Giuliani polled ahead of all other candidates in a majority of states including the delegate-rich states of California, New York, and Florida. A September 26, 2007 Quinnipiac poll taken in New Jersey
gave the mayor a slight lead over Hillary Clinton in the traditional blue state, 45% to 44%.
endorsed Giuliani. Thompson told the Associated Press in a statement that "Rudy Giuliani has shown that he is a true leader. He can and will win the nomination and the presidency. He is America's mayor, and during a period of time of great stress for this country he showed tremendous leadership." Thompson was the first withdrawn Republican presidential candidate and the first member (past or present) of the Bush Administration
to make an endorsement in the race.
Texas Governor Rick Perry
endorsed Giuliani for President of the United States
stating that "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President...I'm not talkin' about any mayor, I'm talkin' about America's Mayor". The endorsement fueled speculation that Giuliani would select Perry to be his running mate for Vice President
if he won the nomination.
An October 29, 2007 study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism
and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy found that Giuliani had received the most media coverage of any of the Republican 2008 presidential candidates, being the subject of 9 percent of all stories (compared to 7 percent for John McCain
and 5 percent for Mitt Romney
). Giuliani's coverage amount trailed that of Democratic contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton
and Barack Obama
, however. The study found that 28 percent of pertinent stories had a favorable tone towards him, 37 percent had an unfavorable tone, with the balance neutral. This ratio was very close to Clinton's, better than McCain's, and worse than Obama's.
Criticism of Giuliani's campaign began to peak in later October. During a Democratic presidential debate, candidate Joe Biden
remarked of Giuliani, "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence – a noun, a verb, and 9/11." A BBC
associate agreed with Biden's assessment stating, "Mr Giuliani's appeal as the man who led New York through the terrorist attacks is occasionally over-emphasised in his campaign."
On November 7, 2007, evangelist
, Christian Broadcasting Network
founder, and past presidential candidate Pat Robertson
endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President of the United States at a news conference in Washington D.C. This was viewed by observers as a key development in the race, as it gave credence that evangelicals and other social conservatives could support Giuliani despite some of Giuliani's positions on social issues such as abortion and gay rights. It also showed that support from evangelicals was split among multiple candidates, as withdrawn candidate Sam Brownback
had recently endorsed John McCain
and prominent figures Bob Jones III
and Paul Weyrich
had recently endorsed Mitt Romney
; as the Baltimore Sun noted, "It suggests that Christian conservatives aren't ready to coalesce behind any single candidate and are unable to stop Giuliani from winning the nomination." The action was protested by the U.S. Islamic advocacy group CAIR
, which said that Robertson had "a clear record of anti-Muslim bigotry" and called on Giuliani to renounce the endorsement.
In the third quarter, Giuliani raised $11 million, first among Republicans. As of October, 2007, he had raised $44 million and had $16 million cash on hand.
, whom Giuliani had appointed to several top positions during his mayoralty, brought in as a partner at Giuliani Partners
, and recommended for Secretary of Homeland Security, was indicted on 16 counts of tax fraud and other federal charges. Due to questions about Giuliani's judgement in promoting Kerik's career
, The New York Times
said that the forthcoming legal proceedings could "cast a shadow" on Giuliani's presidential campaign, while The Washington Post
said the indictment "was expected to provide an opening for political rivals" of Giuliani. Giuliani said that "I made a mistake of not clearing him effectively enough. I take the responsibility for that," and defended Kerik's performance in the city positions he had held. Giuliani also declined to say whether he might one day issue a presidential pardon for Kerik. On November 13, 2007, former publisher Judith Regan
, with whom Kerik had had an extramarital affair, filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against News Corporation, the affiliate of Fox News, claiming among other things that the corporation's executives told her in 2004 to lie to federal investigators about her relationship with Kerik, in order to protect Giuliani's future presidential campaign.
By late November 2007, there were consistent attacks, sometimes personal, between Giuliani and fellow Republican contender Mitt Romney
. The tension between them was increased by Romney's lead in polling in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, while Giuliani continued to lead in national polls. The two traded charges on past appointments, with Giuliani questioning Romney's appointment of a Massachusetts judge who allowed the release without bail of a convicted killer who was subsequently charged in another murder. Romney responded that Giuliani was "throwing stones from a glass house" in light of the Kerik indictment. The two also sparred over the immigration issue during a November 28 debate. However, throughout the campaign, Giuliani was reluctant to respond to attacks from his fellow Republican competitors, and would reject any negative ads his campaign staff produced against them.
In late November 2007, The Politico
reported that while Mayor of New York in 1999 and 2000, Giuliani had billed to obscure city agencies several tens of thousands of dollars of mayoral security expenses incurred while visiting Judith Nathan
, with whom he was having an extramarital affair, in The Hamptons. Giuliani denied that he or his administration had done anything improper, and called the charges a "political hit job". Questions continued in the press not over his need for the security, but over the appearance of trying to hide the expenses in the city budget, which Giuliani aides eventually said was due to vendor payment efficiencies. Shortly thereafter, the New York Daily News
reported another angle on the story, stating that Giuliani had ordered police department protection and chauffering services for Nathan in early 2000, before her relationship with him had even become public.
During late November and early December 2007, several stories were published in the press regarding clients of Giuliani's consultancy firm, Giuliani Partners
, and his law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani
. The Village Voice and others reported that Giuliani Partners had been given contracts from the Qatar
Ministry of the Interior for security advice and consulting since 2005, and these contracts had been overseen by then-Minister of Religious Affairs Abdullah Bin Khalid Al-Thani
, a member of Qatar's royal family who is considered sympathetic to Al Qaeda and who had sheltered future September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from the FBI in 1996.
The New York Times reported that Bracewell & Giuliani had lobbied for an Ethiopia
n political faction opposing its government and in opposition to goals of American foreign policy.
In fact, Giuliani had already stepped down as CEO and Chairman of Giuliani Partners in June 2007, although this action was not disclosed publicly. On December 4, 2007, in the wake of the latest attention to the firm's client base, Giuliani Partners announced the stepping down, with Giuliani defending his work there, saying, "Everything I did at Giuliani Partners was totally legal, totally ethical. There's nothing for me to explain about. We acted honorably, decently." Giuliani maintained his equity interest in the firm.
The Nathan security billing and Giuliani client base stories dominated Giuliani's press coverage for much of a week and coincided with a significant drop in his national poll figures and a worsening of his fortunes in the first caucus and primary states. Combined with the Kerik developments, they associated an air of political-personal doubt around the candidate. The Wall Street Journal
stated that "These are perilous times for Rudy Giuliani." In a lengthy interview on the nationally-televised Meet the Press
, Giuliani defended the security detail decisions, saying they were warranted by threat assessments at the time, and defended his refusal to release a full Giuliani Partners client list, saying every client of significance had already been pointed out in the press. Within a month after the original Nathan report, an investigation of city records by The New York Times
revealed that the billing of mayoral travel-related expenses to obscure city agencies had started two years before the Nathan visits began, and totaled a hundred times more than what was spent for the Nathan visits, thus strongly suggesting that the Nathan visits "had nothing to do with any accounting legerdemain." Nevertheless the political damage had been done.
At the end of the month, Giuliani participated in the November 28, 2007 YouTube Debate to respond to allegations of a perceived 9-11 centric candidacy and other criticisms, Giuliani responded that he "...would like people to look at my whole record. Long before September 11, 2001...the reason that I believe I'm qualified to be president of the United States is not because of September 11th, 2001. It's because I've been tested...and I got very, very remarkable results. And that is the evaluation of other people, not me." He also began airing his first television advertisement in key caucus-primary states. The ad concentrated solely on the transformation of New York City under the Giuliani mayoralty. Observers likened the ad to Republican icon Ronald Reagan
's famous "Morning in America
" ad. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll conducted November 28 found that in the crucial state of Florida
53% of voters found Giuliani to be the best candidate to fight the War on Terrorism
. 33% of the Florida voters found Giuliani to be the best to deal with the Iraq conflict and 34% viewed him as the best candidate concerning economic issues. Giuliani led among primary voters in Florida receiving 38%, ahead of his closest rival, Mitt Romney
by 21%. However, in head to head matchups, Giuliani was losing his lead. A November 9–11th poll had Clinton and Giuliani tied at 45% in the traditional red state of Virginia.
By mid-December 2007, Giuliani was keeping to his strategy of campaigning in big states such as New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, Illinois, Missouri, and other Super Duper Tuesday states, while the other contenders focused on the earlier states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. However, the strategy was now seen as at risk. Not only were his poll numbers in the early states falling — despite an attempt for a while to boost his standing in New Hampshire with $3 million of radio and television advertising, which ended up not having any effect — but he had lost his national lead and had fallen into statistical ties with Mike Huckabee
. Most dangerously, his lead in Florida, the first state that he planned to heavily contest, was dwindling as well. Furthermore, changes in Giuliani's campaign messaging went largely unnoticed by the press, given that they were focused on Iowa and New Hampshire developments. Giuliani's woes were further symbolized when he got sick with flu-like symptoms during a campaign flight and was admitted overnight to Barnes-Jewish Hospital
in St. Louis, Missouri
as a precaution. Giuliani resumed limited campaigning in subsequent days; the campaign would not give precise details of tests done; Giuliani then stated it had been a "terrible headache", not flu, and a full medical report would be given after Christmas; but the health question had become an ongoing campaign story. Giuliani did indeed get a clean bill of health from his doctor on the day after Christmas, but again a minor amount of political damage had been done.
Giuliani's voter appeal continued to be hurt by the previous month's stories about his personal and business life, as well as the reduced level of civil strife in Iraq undercutting his security-based campaign messages. When the close proximity of the first contests to the holidays led to many candidates putting out Christmas videos — allowing them to keep presenting their message but in a more appropriate setting — Giuliani chose two videos which combined his policy goals with humorous asides with Santa Claus
regarding fruit cakes as gifts or the vain hope that "all the presidential candidates can just get along."
In the January 3 Iowa Republican caucus
, in which Giuliani essentially did not compete, he finished a distant sixth out of seven candidates with 4 percent of the vote. He had been second in polls in the state as late as early October.
Giuliani did compete, off and on, in the January 8 New Hampshire primary
, making the second most appearances there of any Republican after Mitt Romney
and spending the third most money there after Romney and John McCain
. He had been second in the polls in the state as late as the start of December, but finished fourth in the primary with 9 percent of the vote, far behind McCain and Romney and trailing as well third-place finisher Mike Huckabee
.
Giuliani continued to maintain that his strategy of focusing on later, larger primaries would result in his winning the nomination. Before the New Hampshire votes had been counted, Giuliani's campaign moved to Florida in preparation for the state's January 29 primary. "I want you to come join us there and help us," he said. "And help us in Connecticut. Help us in New York. Help us in New Jersey."
By January 2008, Giuliani's popularity had slipped significantly, both in the polls and media attention. Measurements by the University of Navarra
indicated that throughout the month, Giuliani's amount of global media attention was a distant fourth among Republican candidates, trailing Huckabee, Romney, and McCain.
(where he had leading in polls as recently as mid-December), sixth place with 4% of the vote in the Nevada caucuses
, and sixth place with 2% of the vote in the South Carolina primary
(where he had been tied for the lead in polls as late as mid-December).
Giuliani said on January 8 that Florida was "real important" to the campaign, and that they would put "almost everything" into Florida. Several senior staffers in the campaign went without their January paychecks in order to assure that more funds could be spent in the state. A January 14, 2008 poll from Rasmussen Reports showed that Giuliani, Mike Huckabee
, John McCain
and Mitt Romney
were all tied within the margin of error On January 23, 2008 the Miami-Herald reported that Giuliani's Florida support was in "freefall" as polls showed him fighting Huckabee (who was only campaigning part-time in the state) for third place, well behind front-runners McCain and Romney. By a January 24, 2008 poll, Giuliani was in third place in Florida with 20% of the vote, compared to 23% for John McCain
and 27% for Mitt Romney
.
Another blow to Giuliani was the late endorsements for McCain of Florida Senator and former Chairman of the Republican National Committee Mel Martinez
on January 25 and the highly popular Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist
, on January 26. Crist had planned to endorse Giuliani in the early autumn, and had still been expected to do so in early January. The Giuliani camp had placed much emphasis on the value of a Crist endorsement, and had focused their campaign strategies around it. They were thus visibly upset by Crist's endorsement of McCain. Whereas previously Giuliani had declared that he would campaign on regardless of the Florida results, he now was more vague. By the day before the Florida vote, a new Quinnipiac University
final poll showed Giuliani's slide continuing down to 14 percent, 18 points behind McCain. Giuliani chartered a Boeing 727
to conduct a barnstorming tour of airports: Orlando Sanford International Airport
, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
, Southwest Florida International Airport
(near Fort Myers
), and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
, with actor-surrogate Jon Voight
along with him, but the crowds for the tarmac rallies usually struggled to reach one hundred. Giuliani's staff handed out gifts to members of the press on the plane, which one reporter said seemed like a "going-away present". By that night, it was being reported that Giuliani might quit the race if he failed to pull off a surprise win there.
Thus, following his Florida defeat, there was no reason to continue on. Giuliani flew cross-country to give his withdrawal announcement on January 30 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
in Simi Valley, California
, endorsing McCain at the same time. The endorsement was done with enthusiasm, as Giuliani and McCain were genuine friends as well as allied on many political issues.
Giuliani's defeat continued a long tradition of Mayors of New York not succeeding at attempts for higher office.
Giuliani's campaign faced challenges due to repeated scandals involving political associates and campaign staff. In June 2007, the campaign was forced to change its choice for Pennsylvania campaign chair after the media noted the selectee, Pennsylvania GOP National Committeeman Bob Asher
, had been convicted of bribery-related charges in 1986.
Giuliani's state chairman in South Carolina, state treasurer Thomas Ravenel
, was indicted on June 19, 2007 on cocaine distribution charges. Giuliani released a statement saying that Ravenel had stepped down from his position in the Giuliani campaign. Ravenel's father, former congressman Arthur Ravenel Jr., replaced his son as state co-chair. The elder Ravenel had previously seen his own share of controversy due to racially inflammatory remarks. Ravenel has called the NAACP the "National Association of Retarded People" and once said that his fellow white congressional members operated on "black time" which he characterized as meaning "fashionably late."
In July 2007 it was revealed that U.S. Senator and Giuliani Southern Region campaign chair David Vitter
(R
- Louisiana
) had been associated with an alleged Washington prostitution
service. Subsequently, a former brothel operator from New Orleans also asserted Senator Vitter had been one her clients. Giuliani stated that the allegations were "a personal matter" for Vitter.
In the foreign policy realm, Podhoretz and others drew media attention, because of their neoconservative roots and calls for the assertive use of American power abroad to spread American values.
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
’s 2008 presidential campaign began following the formation of the Draft
Draft (politics)
In elections in the United States, political drafts are used to encourage or pressure a certain person to enter a political race, by demonstrating a significant groundswell of support for the candidate. A write-in campaign may also be considered a draft campaign.-The movement to draft Dwight D....
Giuliani movement in October 2005. The next year, Giuliani opened an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
and formally announced in February 2007 that he was actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
At the onset of the campaign, Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
was viewed as the front-runner to win the Republican nomination. However, Giuliani had held a significant lead in the nationwide polls by January 2007. McCain's candidacy soon faltered, and throughout 2007, Giuliani maintained his lead in both national polls and fundraising. Political observers predicted that Giuliani's position would fall, either due to Republican base voters discovering his liberal positions on certain social issues, his personality, management style or the entrance of former Senator Fred Thompson into the race. Giuliani did not campaign actively in the early voting states, hoping to simply survive in these states, and focused instead on the later, larger states. He campaigned in Florida throughout the primary season, hoping a win in the state's primary
Florida Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Florida Republican primary was held on January 29, 2008, with 57 delegates at stake on a winner-take-all basis. The Republican National Committee removed half of Florida's delegates because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5. Arizona Senator John McCain was...
on January 29, 2008, would give him enough momentum to win the primaries on Super Duper Tuesday (February 5), where he had also campaigned heavily.
After finishing third in the Florida primary, Giuliani's campaign indicated he would withdraw from the race. On January 29, 2008, Giuliani exited the race and endorsed the eventual Republican nominee John McCain.
Background
Giuliani first entered public affairs when he was appointed as the United States Associate Attorney GeneralUnited States Associate Attorney General
The Associate Attorney General is the third-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. The Associate Attorney General advises and assists the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General in policies relating to civil justice, federal and local law enforcement, and public...
by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. He held the position until 1989, when he ran his first campaign for Mayor of New York. He lost the race but won four years later, and served as the city's mayor from 1994 to 2001. As mayor, he was best known for his leadership role during the September 11 attacks, when he coordinated and managed the immediate emergency response, earning him the title as Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2001. He was also believed to be "tough on crime" and was often credited with the reduction in offenses that occurred during his tenure in office. Giuliani briefly ran for U.S. Senate in New York to fill the vacancy left by the retiring Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
in 2000, but was forced to withdraw from the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although he held traditional views on defense and economics, Giuliani was considered socially liberal, holding pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
views on abortion, supporting same-sex civil unions and embryonic stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
research. As mayor, the abortion rate in New York City dropped by 16% in comparison to the 12% drop nationally; adoptions raised by 133%.
A draft movement
Draft (politics)
In elections in the United States, political drafts are used to encourage or pressure a certain person to enter a political race, by demonstrating a significant groundswell of support for the candidate. A write-in campaign may also be considered a draft campaign.-The movement to draft Dwight D....
began in late 2005 to convince Giuliani to run for President of the United States in 2008. "Draft Rudy Giuliani for President, Inc." filed with the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
(FEC), and became the first federal committee formed with the sole purpose of encouraging Giuliani to run. During this time, pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
groups, such as the Republican National Coalition for Life
Republican National Coalition for Life
Republican National Coalition for Life is an organization formed to maintain the commitment of the Republican Party of the United States to pro-life principles...
, had already announced their intention to oppose Giuliani, because of his stance on abortion. However, evidence suggested that even among those voters, he enjoyed some support for his possible run. Some social conservatives contended that Giuliani's emphasis on lowering the abortion rate, was a pragmatic pro-life view. Among the overall public, Giuliani was perceived to be a moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
. An August 2006 Rasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
poll found that 36% of the American public identified the potential candidate as a moderate, while 29% identified him as a conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
and 15% as a liberal.
Early polls showed Giuliani with one of the highest levels of name recognition and support, and was considered a front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination.
Throughout 2006, rumors circulated regarding a possible Giuliani presidential campaign, abetted by hints from the former mayor himself. Over the Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
holiday weekend in July 2006, Giuliani declared that he would run for president in 2008 if he could raise sufficient funds. On November 13, 2006, Giuliani announced during a leadership conference in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
that he had taken the first step toward a potential 2008 White House bid by forming the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., allowing him to raise money for national travel and for a Presidential campaign.
Campaign developments 2007
On February 5, 2007, Giuliani officially entered the race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election after filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission. He confirmed his candidacy on the February 14 edition of Larry King LiveLarry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, firmly stating: "Yes, I'm running." No Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
had ever been elected president, and Giuliani's run was the most notable by a member of the ethnic group. (The only Italian American to be a major-party national ticket nominee was Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
, the 1984 Democratic Party nominee for vice-president.)
February - May 2007: Early stages
Following a series of criticisms from conservatives about his views on abortion, Giuliani made a pledge in February 2007 to nominate Supreme Court Justices in the mold of John RobertsJohn Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
, Sam Alito, Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, and Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
(all Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
appointees, former colleagues of his in the Reagan Justice Department or both).
According to a Gallup Poll taken February 9–11 2007, responders who supported Giuliani were asked why they supported him. The results showed that 13% of supporters did so because of Giuliani's strong leadership and 53% did so because of leadership related topics such as time as mayor and handling of 9/11. Another poll taken by Marist showed that 42% of Giuliani supporters believed that leadership is the most important quality for a candidate, compared to 34% of McCain supporters who believed the same.
In February 2007, the International Association of Fire Fighters
International Association of Fire Fighters
The International Association of Fire Fighters is a labor union representing professional firefighters in the United States and Canada. The IAFF was formed in 1918 and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress in Canada. The IAFF is headquartered in...
issued a letter accusing Giuliani of "egregious acts" against the 343 firemen who had died in the September 11th attacks. The letter asserted that Giuliani rushed to conclude the recovery effort once gold and silver had been recovered from World Trade Center vaults and thereby prevented the remains of many victims from being recovered: "Mayor Giuliani's actions meant that fire fighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills Landfill
Fresh Kills Landfill
The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western Staten Island...
." The Giuliani camp stated that the union was politically motivated from tough contract negotiations from Giuliani's second term as mayor and quoted a retired firefighter, Lee Ielphi (a father of 9-11 victim who was called to duty as a firefighter that day), saying "Firefighters have no greater friend and supporter than Rudy Giuliani." The union denied political motivation for the criticism.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine and former perennial Presidential candidate Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...
announced his endorsement of Giuliani on March 27, 2007. He cited the economic platform and leadership of the candidate in his reasoning for support. "I am honored to support Rudy Giuliani for President, As Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani showed how exercising fiscal discipline, including tax cuts, lowers deficits, spurs economic growth, and increases revenue. It is time the rest of the country benefit from a true fiscal conservative leader who gets real results." Forbes was named National Campaign Co-Chair and Senior Advisor for the campaign following his endorsement.
Giuliani and the nine other Republican presidential contenders participated in the first MSNBC 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs is the presidential library and final resting place of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is located in Simi Valley, California, about northwest of...
. In the non-scientific six part MSNBC online vote following the debate, Giuliani finished in 3rd place (15%).
Giuliani portrayed himself as the candidate who could beat Hillary Clinton in the general election by being competitive in traditional blue states such as New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. A May 10, 2007 Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac
This article is about the Native American nation. For the university, see Quinnipiac University.The Quinnipiac — rarely spelled Quinnipiack — is the English name for the Eansketambawg a Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the Wampanoki This article is about the Native...
poll put Giuliani ahead of Hillary Clinton, 48% to 42% in Connecticut.
Giuliani participated at the May 15, 2007 GOP debate in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
where the notable exchange occurred when the former Mayor challenged a statement made by Congressman Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
. Paul claimed that the United States' presence in the Middle East over the past decade incited hatred towards the United States among many Middle Easterners and provided terrorists with extra incentive to commit the September 11 attacks:
PAUL: No, non-intervention was a major contributing factor. Have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we've been over there. We've been bombing Iraq for ten years. We've been in the Middle East [for years]. I think [Ronald] Reagan was right. We don't understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics. Right now, we're building an embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the VaticanVatican CityVatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. We're building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
? We would be objecting. We need to look at what we do, from the point of view of what it would be like if someone did it to us.
MODERATOR: Are you suggesting we invited the 9/11 Attacks, sir?
PAUL: I'm suggesting that we listen to the people who attacked us and the reason they did it, and they are delighted that we're over there because Osama bin Laden has said, "I'm glad you're over on our sand because we can target you so much easier." They've already now since that time have killed 3,400 of our men, and I don't think it was necessary.
GIULIANI: That's really an extraordinary statement. That's an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of September 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. I don't think I've heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th. And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that.
MODERATOR: Congressman?
PAUL: I believe very sincerely that the CIA is correct when they teach and talk about blowbackBlowback (intelligence)Blowback is the espionage term for the violent, unintended consequences of a covert operation that are suffered by the civil population of the aggressor government...
. When we went into Iran in 1953 and installed the Shah, yes there was blowback. The reaction to that was the taking of our hostages, and that persists. And if we ignore that, we ignore that at our own risk. If we think we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem. They don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free, they come and attack us because we're over there. I mean what would we think if other foreign countries were doing that to us?
The debate was sponsored by Fox News. News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, the parent company of Fox News, is a client of the Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is an international law firm based in Houston, Texas, that began in 1945. The firm has over 470 lawyers, and has United States offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Hartford, San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas, and Austin, and overseas offices in Dubai, and London...
law firm. Accuracy in Media
Accuracy in Media
Accuracy In Media is an American, non-profit news media watchdog founded in 1969 by economist Reed Irvine. AIM describes itself as "a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that...
editor Cliff Kincaid charged after the debate that this represented a conflict of interest, and that Fox News moderators Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace (journalist)
Christopher "Chris" Wallace is an American journalist, currently the host of the Fox Network program, Fox News Sunday. Wallace has won three Emmy Awards, the Dupont-Columbia Silver Baton Award, and a Peabody Award. Wallace has been with Fox News since 2003...
and Wendell Goler
Wendell Goler
Wendell Goler is the Senior White House and Foreign Affairs correspondent for Fox News Channel, who joined the network in 1996. During his time at the network, he has covered any number of stories from the impeachment of President Bill Clinton to President Bush's post September 11, 2001 policy...
and post-debate interviewer Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
failed to ask Giuliani pertinent follow-up questions regarding the Ron Paul exchange about the causes of the September 11 attacks.
In May, influential Christian conservative leader James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
, wrote that he could not fathom Giuliani's stance on the abortion issue and he would not vote for him if he were the Republican presidential nominee. He also cited Giuliani's three marriages and the former mayor's support for civil unions for gays as reasons why he could not support the candidate. Dobson wrote, "I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision."
According to the Federal Elections Commission, Giuliani raised $18,029,974 in the first quarter of 2007, second to Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
among Republicans and fourth overall. Out of that money he spent only $6,080,239. Among that money he raised the second-most from Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
of all presidential candidates, with $1.8 million raised.
Summer 2007: The campaign heats up
Giuliani started June at the third GOP debate in Manchester, New HampshireManchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
. After beginning to answer a question related to a comment that a Catholic bishop had made, comparing him to Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
for his views on abortion, lightning struck and took out his microphone feed multiple times. Giuliani joked about the situation stating:
Look, for someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that’s happening right now. (Laughter.)
But the reality is, I respect, you know, the opinion of Catholic — (off mike) — religious leaders of all kinds. Religion is very important to me, it’s a very important part of my life. But ultimately, as a — (off mike) — I’ve been in public life most of my life and taken oaths of office to enforce the law, I’ve got to make the decisions that I think are the right ones in a country like ours.
And my view on abortion is that it’s wrong, but that ultimately government should not be enforcing that decision on a woman. That’s — that is my view that I — I consult my religion, I consult my reading of the Constitution, I consult my views of what I think are important in a pluralistic society, and the reality that we have to respect the fact that there are people that are equally as religious, equally as moral that make a different decision about this. And should government put them in jail?
On June 11, 2007, Giuliani released "Twelve Commitments to the American People" that he wants to accomplish if he is elected President; these were intended to become the centerpieces of his campaign. Two days later, he released an expanded version of the twelve commitments, with more detailed goals for each one.
Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper
Jacob Paul "Jake" Tapper is an American print and television journalist, currently the senior White House correspondent for ABC News in Washington, D.C...
of ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
described them as a "a laundry list of generally conservative positions on fiscal discipline, tax-cutting and anti-terrorism plans."
In June 2007, Giuliani drew some criticism for dropping out of the August Iowa Straw Poll. Some Republican officials felt the move could be seen as "dissing Iowa." In response, a man in a chicken suit, known as the Iowa Chicken
Iowa Chicken
The Iowa Chicken was a person in a chicken suit who followed John McCain and Rudy Giuliani around Iowa during the 2008 American presidential race, carrying a sign that read "You 'Bawk'ed at the Straw Poll!" This was done to both protest and bring attention to that fact that neither candidate...
, began demonstrating at Giuliani's appearances in Iowa. Despite this, Giuliani maintained that he was still planning on competing in the Iowa Caucus
Iowa caucus
The Iowa caucuses are an electoral event in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa meet in precinct caucuses in all of Iowa's 1784 precincts and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions. There are 99 counties in Iowa and thus 99 conventions...
. Some political observers have opined that the Straw Poll results are bought by campaigns.
Polls taken in June showed that Giuliani's Iowa support had dropped slightly from the mid-20s to 15% - though this may have been due to the exposure of Fred Thompson rather than his dropping out of the Iowa Straw Poll. The same month, a poll of New York voters revealed that a majority of New York City voters disapproved of him, while Giuliani's favorable rating among New York Republicans was 76%.
Giuliani had emerged as the frontrunner after overtaking John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
in the polls. With the exposure and eventual entrance of Fred Thompson into the field, Giuliani's poll numbers began to drop. But he held on to his status as frontrunner. According to the CBS News Poll taken June 26–28, Giuliani held the lead over Thompson 34% to 21%.
In July, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that Giuliani was focusing his time on more populated states with more delegates, such as California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, rather than primary battleground states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Indeed Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
, a lower-tier candidate had more staff in Iowa than Giuliani did. Some political analysts called it a risky strategy that had never been attempted before by a Republican presidential candidate. In any case, Giuliani had never grown used to the small-scale, retail politics that Iowa and New Hampshire campaigning demanded, preferring instead to travel in a large entourage and look for media opportunities. On August 11, 2007 the Ames Straw Poll
Ames Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided...
was held. Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
led with 31.6 percent; Thompson received 1.4 percent; Giuliani received 1.3 percent.
Giuliani unveiled his health care plan on July 31, 2007 which proposed a tax deduction
Tax deduction
Income tax systems generally allow a tax deduction, i.e., a reduction of the income subject to tax, for various items, especially expenses incurred to produce income. Often these deductions are subject to limitations or conditions...
(not a tax credit
Tax credit
A tax credit is a sum deducted from the total amount a taxpayer owes to the state. A tax credit may be granted for various types of taxes, such as an income tax, property tax, or VAT. It may be granted in recognition of taxes already paid, as a subsidy, or to encourage investment or other behaviors...
)
of up to $15,000 for families and up to $7,500 for individuals who purchase private individual health insurance policies.
Giuliani wrote about his plan on August 3, 2007 in an article to the Boston Globe. In it he stated that taxes should not be raised to provide more health care but instead lowered for "individual empowerment". He talked about the creation of a tax-free Health Savings Account
Health savings account
A health savings account is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan . The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account...
that would allow individuals and small businesses to stock up on health insurance and in effect lower rates.
In August, Giuliani claimed that he "was at Ground Zero
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
as often, if not more, than most workers." This angered some NY Fire and Police personnel. A New York Times study a week later found that—while his appointment logs were unavailable for the six days immediately following the attacks—he spent a total of 29 hours over three months at the site. This contrasted with recovery workers at the site who spent this much time at the site in two to three days. However, Giuliani scaled back in his claims recognizing that he didn't mean to say it exactly as it came out,
Giuliani declined to discuss his religion when asked if he considered himself a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic" at a town hall meeting in Iowa on August 7, 2007. He believes this is a personal matter and that there shouldn't be a religious test for public office. He would explain further stating:
Giuliani received another personal question at a public appearance in Derry, New Hampshire
Derry, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 33,109 people, 12,537 households, and 8,767 families residing in the town. The population density was 924.8 people per square mile . There were 13,277 housing units at an average density of 143.2/km²...
on August 16, when he was asked "[H]ow you could expect the loyal following of Americans when you are not getting it from your own family?" He replied, "I love my family very, very much and will do anything for them.... The best thing I can say is kind of, 'Leave my family alone, just like I'll leave your family alone.'"
Later in August, the campaign hired Scott Howell & Company, headed by Heath Thompson who as George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's campaign director in South Carolina in the 2000 election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
helped the president win the state by eleven points. The company is led by Scott Howell
Scott Howell
Herbert Weston Scott Howell III is an American conservative political consultant, whose recent clients include Meg Whitman and Rudy Giuliani.-Personal:Married in 1994 to Julie L. Feaster). They reside in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and have two children....
, the same consultant that produced the controversial "Harold, call me" advertisement against Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.
Harold Ford, Jr.
Harold Eugene Ford, Jr. is an American politician and was the last chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Leadership Council . He was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from , centered in Memphis, from 1997 to 2007...
that critics deemed racially insensitive but helped Bob Corker
Bob Corker
Robert Phillips "Bob" Corker, Jr. is the junior United States Senator from Tennessee. Before his election to the Senate in 2006, he served as mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee from 2001 to 2005. Corker was a businessman prior to holding public office.-Early life and family:Born in Orangeburg, South...
win the senate race. The firm has also represented the winning campaigns of John Thune
John Thune
John Randolph Thune is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a U.S. Representative for .-Early Life, Education:...
of South Dakota, Norm Coleman
Norm Coleman
Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
of Minnesota, Jim DeMint
Jim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
of South Carolina, Saxby Chambliss
Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative ....
of Georgia and Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
of Texas. Also representing the Giuliani camp as consultants are, Chris Mottola and Associates, BrabenderCox
BrabenderCox
BrabenderCox is a nationally recognized Republican political consulting firm, with offices in Pittsburgh, PA, Washington, DC and Harrisburg, PA.Founded as BrabenderCox, Inc...
and Crossroads Media.
In the second quarter, Giuliani revealed that he raised $17 million, first among Republicans and third overall behind Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Hillary Clinton.
September 2007: Frontrunner status
In early September 2007 Giuliani addressed a convention of troopers in Portland, MainePortland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
stating that he would create programs in the mold of COMPSTAT
CompStat
CompStat—or COMPSTAT— is the name given to the New York City Police Department's accountability process and has since been replicated in many other departments...
which he developed as mayor, to fight terrorism and promote border security, calling the programs TerrorSTAT and BorderSTAT. Giuliani also stated that he supported a ID card system for the government to keep track of information on immigrants to help eliminate illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and crime. He touted his experience in law enforcement stating, "I don't think there's been a president since Teddy Roosevelt that's had as much experience with policing as I've had."
Giuliani wrote an essay speaking about the need for changes in the State Department and a "revolution in diplomatic affairs". The essay entitled "Toward a Realistic Peace" recognizes the need for a return to the policies of the Eisenhower Administration, praising it as the last coherent policy-making and policy-executing system in Washington. The essay criticizes the Clinton Administration stating,"We have responded forcefully to the Terrorists' War on Us, abandoning a decade long — and counterproductive — strategy of defensive reaction in favor of a vigorous offense." Giuliani stresses that diplomacy should be an important facet of foreign policy but cannot be overused.
The Giuliani campaign paid for an ad in the New York Times published September 14, 2007. Its aim was to counter an ad published by the left-wing website MoveOn.org the previous day calling General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
"General Betray Us". Giuliani's ad also attacked Hillary Clinton for not denouncing MoveOn.org's ad and questioned her statements about General Petraeus' report to Congress on Iraq. Highlighted was the statement made by Clinton about "the willing suspension of disbelief". The ad was completed with a statement by Giuliani saying, "These times call for statesmanship, not politicians spewing political venom."
On September 21, 2007, numerous news agencies reported on Giuliani's interruption by, presumably, a phone call from his wife
Judith Nathan
Judi Ann "Judith" Stish Giuliani is a registered nurse, fundraiser for charitable organizations, former Managing Director of Changing Our World, founding board member of the Twin Towers Fund, and the wife of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani...
during a publicized National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
speech. Shortly thereafter a vast array of Internet blogs criticized the call as being a phony political gimmick. A source from within Giuliani's camp said, "what you saw today was a candidate in a spontaneous moment on the campaign trail." While Jeff Barker, a campaign spokesman confirmed, "the call was not planned." The official stance from Giuliani was not concrete, as during the same day Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
's political camp revealed a prior video wherein June, he had again left his cell phone on and received another call from his wife.
According to the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Giuliani has taken approximately 40 calls during speeches. A fact checker piece by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
surveyed other reports of such calls and concluded, "This is a puzzling one. Without more information, it is difficult to divine Giuliani's true motivations for taking these calls."
In September, reports surfaced of a coordinated grassroots campaign "$9.11 for Rudy," which attempted to solicit $9.11 in the form of donations. One of their supporters, Abraham Sofaer, attempted to hold a fundraiser for Giuliani during the "National House Party Night", and drew criticism. Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd called the theme "unconscionable, shameless and sickening." However, Giuliani's campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella stated, "These are two volunteers who acted independently of and without the knowledge of the campaign, their decision to ask individuals for that amount was an unfortunate choice."
Perhaps because of Giuliani's frontrunner status, some national leaders of the Christian right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
including James Dobson, Richard Viguerie
Richard Viguerie
Richard Art Viguerie is a conservative figure, pioneer of political direct mail and writer on American politics...
, Tony Perkins
Tony Perkins (politician)
Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank and public policy foundation based in Washington, D.C...
and Morton Blackwell
Morton Blackwell
Morton C. Blackwell is an American Republican Party activist. He is president and founder of the Leadership Institute , a 5013 non-profit educational foundation that teaches political technology....
, attended a meeting of the Council for National Policy
Council for National Policy
The Council for National Policy , is an umbrella organization and networking group for social conservative activists in the United States...
in September 2007, at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. At this meeting, they decided that they would consider supporting a third-party candidate for president if a pro-choice candidate were to win the Republican nomination. The CNP's official statement read, "If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate, we will consider running a third-party candidate."
By the end of September 2007, most polls showed Giuliani to have more support than any of the other declared Republican candidates, with only Senator Thompson and Governor Romney showing greater support in some state polls. Specifically, state-by-state polls for the 2008 Republican nomination showed that Giuliani polled ahead of all other candidates in a majority of states including the delegate-rich states of California, New York, and Florida. A September 26, 2007 Quinnipiac poll taken in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
gave the mayor a slight lead over Hillary Clinton in the traditional blue state, 45% to 44%.
Autumn 2007: A string of endorsements
In October 2007, Former Wisconsin Governor, Secretary of Health and Human Services and 2008 presidential candidate Tommy ThompsonTommy Thompson
Thomas George "Tommy" Thompson , a United States Republican politician, was the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, after which he served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was a candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, but dropped out early after a poor performance in polls...
endorsed Giuliani. Thompson told the Associated Press in a statement that "Rudy Giuliani has shown that he is a true leader. He can and will win the nomination and the presidency. He is America's mayor, and during a period of time of great stress for this country he showed tremendous leadership." Thompson was the first withdrawn Republican presidential candidate and the first member (past or present) of the Bush Administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
to make an endorsement in the race.
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
endorsed Giuliani for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
stating that "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President...I'm not talkin' about any mayor, I'm talkin' about America's Mayor". The endorsement fueled speculation that Giuliani would select Perry to be his running mate for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
if he won the nomination.
An October 29, 2007 study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism
Project for Excellence in Journalism
The Project for Excellence in Journalism is a non-profit research organization in the US that uses empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press. It asserts that it is "non partisan, non ideological and non political"...
and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy found that Giuliani had received the most media coverage of any of the Republican 2008 presidential candidates, being the subject of 9 percent of all stories (compared to 7 percent for John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and 5 percent for Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
). Giuliani's coverage amount trailed that of Democratic contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, however. The study found that 28 percent of pertinent stories had a favorable tone towards him, 37 percent had an unfavorable tone, with the balance neutral. This ratio was very close to Clinton's, better than McCain's, and worse than Obama's.
Criticism of Giuliani's campaign began to peak in later October. During a Democratic presidential debate, candidate Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
remarked of Giuliani, "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence – a noun, a verb, and 9/11." A BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
associate agreed with Biden's assessment stating, "Mr Giuliani's appeal as the man who led New York through the terrorist attacks is occasionally over-emphasised in his campaign."
On November 7, 2007, evangelist
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
founder, and past presidential candidate Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President of the United States at a news conference in Washington D.C. This was viewed by observers as a key development in the race, as it gave credence that evangelicals and other social conservatives could support Giuliani despite some of Giuliani's positions on social issues such as abortion and gay rights. It also showed that support from evangelicals was split among multiple candidates, as withdrawn candidate Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
had recently endorsed John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and prominent figures Bob Jones III
Bob Jones III
Robert Reynolds Jones III , third president of Bob Jones University. The son of Bob Jones, Jr., and the grandson of Bob Jones, Sr., the university's founder, Jones III served as president of BJU from 1971 to 2005.-Biography:...
and Paul Weyrich
Paul Weyrich
Paul M. Weyrich was an American conservativepolitical activist and commentator, most notable as a figurehead of the New Right. He co-founded the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and the Free Congress Foundation, another conservative think tank...
had recently endorsed Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
; as the Baltimore Sun noted, "It suggests that Christian conservatives aren't ready to coalesce behind any single candidate and are unable to stop Giuliani from winning the nomination." The action was protested by the U.S. Islamic advocacy group CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
, which said that Robertson had "a clear record of anti-Muslim bigotry" and called on Giuliani to renounce the endorsement.
In the third quarter, Giuliani raised $11 million, first among Republicans. As of October, 2007, he had raised $44 million and had $16 million cash on hand.
Late Fall 2007: Under attack
On November 9, 2007, Bernard KerikBernard Kerik
Bernard Bailey "Bernie" Kerik is a former New York City Police Commissioner, Secretary of Homeland Security nominee, and now a federal felon. Kerik was New York City Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2001, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In December 2004, President George W. Bush nominated Kerik as...
, whom Giuliani had appointed to several top positions during his mayoralty, brought in as a partner at Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners LLC is a management consulting and security consulting business founded by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in January 2002.-Structure:...
, and recommended for Secretary of Homeland Security, was indicted on 16 counts of tax fraud and other federal charges. Due to questions about Giuliani's judgement in promoting Kerik's career
Rudy Giuliani promotions of Bernard Kerik
Rudy Giuliani, as mayor of the City of New York, promoted the career of Bernard Kerik on several occasions. Critics have charged that Giuliani showed consistently poor judgment in doing so.-History of promotions:...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that the forthcoming legal proceedings could "cast a shadow" on Giuliani's presidential campaign, while The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
said the indictment "was expected to provide an opening for political rivals" of Giuliani. Giuliani said that "I made a mistake of not clearing him effectively enough. I take the responsibility for that," and defended Kerik's performance in the city positions he had held. Giuliani also declined to say whether he might one day issue a presidential pardon for Kerik. On November 13, 2007, former publisher Judith Regan
Judith Regan
Judith Regan is an American editor, producer, book publisher and television and radio talk show host. She is the mother of a son and a daughter and lives in New York City and Los Angeles.-Early life:...
, with whom Kerik had had an extramarital affair, filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against News Corporation, the affiliate of Fox News, claiming among other things that the corporation's executives told her in 2004 to lie to federal investigators about her relationship with Kerik, in order to protect Giuliani's future presidential campaign.
By late November 2007, there were consistent attacks, sometimes personal, between Giuliani and fellow Republican contender Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
. The tension between them was increased by Romney's lead in polling in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, while Giuliani continued to lead in national polls. The two traded charges on past appointments, with Giuliani questioning Romney's appointment of a Massachusetts judge who allowed the release without bail of a convicted killer who was subsequently charged in another murder. Romney responded that Giuliani was "throwing stones from a glass house" in light of the Kerik indictment. The two also sparred over the immigration issue during a November 28 debate. However, throughout the campaign, Giuliani was reluctant to respond to attacks from his fellow Republican competitors, and would reject any negative ads his campaign staff produced against them.
In late November 2007, The Politico
The Politico
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
reported that while Mayor of New York in 1999 and 2000, Giuliani had billed to obscure city agencies several tens of thousands of dollars of mayoral security expenses incurred while visiting Judith Nathan
Judith Nathan
Judi Ann "Judith" Stish Giuliani is a registered nurse, fundraiser for charitable organizations, former Managing Director of Changing Our World, founding board member of the Twin Towers Fund, and the wife of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani...
, with whom he was having an extramarital affair, in The Hamptons. Giuliani denied that he or his administration had done anything improper, and called the charges a "political hit job". Questions continued in the press not over his need for the security, but over the appearance of trying to hide the expenses in the city budget, which Giuliani aides eventually said was due to vendor payment efficiencies. Shortly thereafter, the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
reported another angle on the story, stating that Giuliani had ordered police department protection and chauffering services for Nathan in early 2000, before her relationship with him had even become public.
During late November and early December 2007, several stories were published in the press regarding clients of Giuliani's consultancy firm, Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners LLC is a management consulting and security consulting business founded by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in January 2002.-Structure:...
, and his law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is an international law firm based in Houston, Texas, that began in 1945. The firm has over 470 lawyers, and has United States offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Hartford, San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas, and Austin, and overseas offices in Dubai, and London...
. The Village Voice and others reported that Giuliani Partners had been given contracts from the Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
Ministry of the Interior for security advice and consulting since 2005, and these contracts had been overseen by then-Minister of Religious Affairs Abdullah Bin Khalid Al-Thani
Abdullah Bin Khalid Al-Thani
Since 2001, by appointment of the Emir, HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalid bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani is the Minister of the Interior of Qatar...
, a member of Qatar's royal family who is considered sympathetic to Al Qaeda and who had sheltered future September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from the FBI in 1996.
The New York Times reported that Bracewell & Giuliani had lobbied for an Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n political faction opposing its government and in opposition to goals of American foreign policy.
In fact, Giuliani had already stepped down as CEO and Chairman of Giuliani Partners in June 2007, although this action was not disclosed publicly. On December 4, 2007, in the wake of the latest attention to the firm's client base, Giuliani Partners announced the stepping down, with Giuliani defending his work there, saying, "Everything I did at Giuliani Partners was totally legal, totally ethical. There's nothing for me to explain about. We acted honorably, decently." Giuliani maintained his equity interest in the firm.
The Nathan security billing and Giuliani client base stories dominated Giuliani's press coverage for much of a week and coincided with a significant drop in his national poll figures and a worsening of his fortunes in the first caucus and primary states. Combined with the Kerik developments, they associated an air of political-personal doubt around the candidate. The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
stated that "These are perilous times for Rudy Giuliani." In a lengthy interview on the nationally-televised Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
, Giuliani defended the security detail decisions, saying they were warranted by threat assessments at the time, and defended his refusal to release a full Giuliani Partners client list, saying every client of significance had already been pointed out in the press. Within a month after the original Nathan report, an investigation of city records by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
revealed that the billing of mayoral travel-related expenses to obscure city agencies had started two years before the Nathan visits began, and totaled a hundred times more than what was spent for the Nathan visits, thus strongly suggesting that the Nathan visits "had nothing to do with any accounting legerdemain." Nevertheless the political damage had been done.
At the end of the month, Giuliani participated in the November 28, 2007 YouTube Debate to respond to allegations of a perceived 9-11 centric candidacy and other criticisms, Giuliani responded that he "...would like people to look at my whole record. Long before September 11, 2001...the reason that I believe I'm qualified to be president of the United States is not because of September 11th, 2001. It's because I've been tested...and I got very, very remarkable results. And that is the evaluation of other people, not me." He also began airing his first television advertisement in key caucus-primary states. The ad concentrated solely on the transformation of New York City under the Giuliani mayoralty. Observers likened the ad to Republican icon Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's famous "Morning in America
Morning in America
"Morning in America" is the common name of an effective political campaign television commercial formally titled "Prouder, Stronger, Better" and featuring the opening line "It's morning again in America." The ad was part of the 1984 U.S. presidential campaign of Republican Party candidate Ronald...
" ad. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll conducted November 28 found that in the crucial state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
53% of voters found Giuliani to be the best candidate to fight the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. 33% of the Florida voters found Giuliani to be the best to deal with the Iraq conflict and 34% viewed him as the best candidate concerning economic issues. Giuliani led among primary voters in Florida receiving 38%, ahead of his closest rival, Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
by 21%. However, in head to head matchups, Giuliani was losing his lead. A November 9–11th poll had Clinton and Giuliani tied at 45% in the traditional red state of Virginia.
Winter 2007: A strategy in peril
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
. Most dangerously, his lead in Florida, the first state that he planned to heavily contest, was dwindling as well. Furthermore, changes in Giuliani's campaign messaging went largely unnoticed by the press, given that they were focused on Iowa and New Hampshire developments. Giuliani's woes were further symbolized when he got sick with flu-like symptoms during a campaign flight and was admitted overnight to Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, and is located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is consistently rated one of the top hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
as a precaution. Giuliani resumed limited campaigning in subsequent days; the campaign would not give precise details of tests done; Giuliani then stated it had been a "terrible headache", not flu, and a full medical report would be given after Christmas; but the health question had become an ongoing campaign story. Giuliani did indeed get a clean bill of health from his doctor on the day after Christmas, but again a minor amount of political damage had been done.
Giuliani's voter appeal continued to be hurt by the previous month's stories about his personal and business life, as well as the reduced level of civil strife in Iraq undercutting his security-based campaign messages. When the close proximity of the first contests to the holidays led to many candidates putting out Christmas videos — allowing them to keep presenting their message but in a more appropriate setting — Giuliani chose two videos which combined his policy goals with humorous asides with Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
regarding fruit cakes as gifts or the vain hope that "all the presidential candidates can just get along."
Iowa and New Hampshire
Iowa Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses took place on January 4, 2008. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll...
, in which Giuliani essentially did not compete, he finished a distant sixth out of seven candidates with 4 percent of the vote. He had been second in polls in the state as late as early October.
Giuliani did compete, off and on, in the January 8 New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
, making the second most appearances there of any Republican after Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
and spending the third most money there after Romney and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
. He had been second in the polls in the state as late as the start of December, but finished fourth in the primary with 9 percent of the vote, far behind McCain and Romney and trailing as well third-place finisher Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
.
Giuliani continued to maintain that his strategy of focusing on later, larger primaries would result in his winning the nomination. Before the New Hampshire votes had been counted, Giuliani's campaign moved to Florida in preparation for the state's January 29 primary. "I want you to come join us there and help us," he said. "And help us in Connecticut. Help us in New York. Help us in New Jersey."
By January 2008, Giuliani's popularity had slipped significantly, both in the polls and media attention. Measurements by the University of Navarra
University of Navarra
The University of Navarra is a private pontifical university based at the southeast border of Pamplona, Spain. It was founded in 1952 by St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, the founder of Opus Dei as a corporate work of the apostolate of Opus Dei....
indicated that throughout the month, Giuliani's amount of global media attention was a distant fourth among Republican candidates, trailing Huckabee, Romney, and McCain.
Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina
Meanwhile, Giuliani's results in the early primaries and caucuses were very low: sixth place with 3% of the vote in the Michigan primaryMichigan Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Michigan Republican primary took place on January 15, 2008. Mitt Romney came in first with 39 percent of the vote, followed by John McCain with 30 percent and Mike Huckabee in third-place with 16 percent...
(where he had leading in polls as recently as mid-December), sixth place with 4% of the vote in the Nevada caucuses
Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008
The Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008 was held on January 19, the same day as the 2008 South Carolina Republican primary, with 31 delegates at stake. Mitt Romney was the winner in Nevada with 51% of the votes, with Ron Paul in second place. Half of Romney's votes came from Mormons, while two-thirds...
, and sixth place with 2% of the vote in the South Carolina primary
South Carolina Republican primary, 2008
The South Carolina Republican primary, 2008 was held on January 19, with 24 delegates at stake. The Republican National Committee took half of South Carolina's 47 delegates away from them because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5...
(where he had been tied for the lead in polls as late as mid-December).
Florida
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
were all tied within the margin of error On January 23, 2008 the Miami-Herald reported that Giuliani's Florida support was in "freefall" as polls showed him fighting Huckabee (who was only campaigning part-time in the state) for third place, well behind front-runners McCain and Romney. By a January 24, 2008 poll, Giuliani was in third place in Florida with 20% of the vote, compared to 23% for John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and 27% for Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
.
Another blow to Giuliani was the late endorsements for McCain of Florida Senator and former Chairman of the Republican National Committee Mel Martinez
Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
on January 25 and the highly popular Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
, on January 26. Crist had planned to endorse Giuliani in the early autumn, and had still been expected to do so in early January. The Giuliani camp had placed much emphasis on the value of a Crist endorsement, and had focused their campaign strategies around it. They were thus visibly upset by Crist's endorsement of McCain. Whereas previously Giuliani had declared that he would campaign on regardless of the Florida results, he now was more vague. By the day before the Florida vote, a new Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park...
final poll showed Giuliani's slide continuing down to 14 percent, 18 points behind McCain. Giuliani chartered a Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
to conduct a barnstorming tour of airports: Orlando Sanford International Airport
Orlando Sanford International Airport
Orlando-Sanford International Airport is a public commercial air service airport in Sanford, Florida, near Orlando. It was originally constructed as a military installation known as Naval Air Station Sanford that was in operation as a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance...
, St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in unincorporated Pinellas County, Florida, north of St. Petersburg, serving St...
, Southwest Florida International Airport
Southwest Florida International Airport
-Statistics:-Accidents and incidents:* November 28, 2007 - A single-engine fixed wing aircraft crashed about 9:20 a.m. one mile west of Runway 6. The crash killed the pilot...
(near Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
), and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport is an international commercial airport located in unincorporated Broward County, Florida, three miles southwest of the central business district of Fort Lauderdale...
, with actor-surrogate Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
along with him, but the crowds for the tarmac rallies usually struggled to reach one hundred. Giuliani's staff handed out gifts to members of the press on the plane, which one reporter said seemed like a "going-away present". By that night, it was being reported that Giuliani might quit the race if he failed to pull off a surprise win there.
Withdrawal
Although he hoped to win most of the necessary delegates for the nomination on Super Tuesday, February 5, late January polls by Rasmussen Reports showed that he was in 5th place in California with 11% support, and a Rasmussen Reports poll out of New Jersey showed him in 2nd place with 27% support. One New Jersey poll had him losing a 32-point lead since October and trailing McCain there. Perhaps the biggest concern for Giuliani was the fact that two polls released on January 20 showed McCain with a double-digit lead in Giuliani's home state of New York. A Zogby poll showed a close race in New York, but also put McCain ahead.Thus, following his Florida defeat, there was no reason to continue on. Giuliani flew cross-country to give his withdrawal announcement on January 30 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs is the presidential library and final resting place of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is located in Simi Valley, California, about northwest of...
in Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...
, endorsing McCain at the same time. The endorsement was done with enthusiasm, as Giuliani and McCain were genuine friends as well as allied on many political issues.
Giuliani's defeat continued a long tradition of Mayors of New York not succeeding at attempts for higher office.
Staff and advisors
Giuliani's campaign staff and advisory team included:- Chief political advisor: Tony Carbonetti, former Giuliani mayoral chief-of-staff
- Campaign manager: Mike DuHaime, Northeast regional political director for President Bush's 2004 re-election campaignGeorge W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004This article is about the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the former President of the United States and winner of the 2004 Presidential Election. See George W. Bush for a detailed biography and information about his full presidency, and George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 for a...
- Chairman: Pat Oxford, Managing partner for Bracewell & Giuliani
- Communications director: Katie Levinson, Communications director for California Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
- Political director: Dr. Mark Campbell, Principal in Campbell & Campbell Campaigns Inc were he worked for George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, Republican National CommitteeRepublican National CommitteeThe Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, National Republican Congressional CommitteeNational Republican Congressional CommitteeThe National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
, and other GOP candidates - Senior adviser: Chris Henick, former senior political advisor of the Republican National Committee and the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
- Justice advisory committee chair: Theodore OlsonTheodore OlsonTheodore Bevry Olson is a former United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004 under President George W. Bush.- Early life :...
, former United States Solicitor GeneralUnited States Solicitor GeneralThe United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
and attorney for George W. Bush in the case of Bush v. GoreBush v. GoreBush v. Gore, , is the landmark United States Supreme Court decision on December 12, 2000, that effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush. Only eight days earlier, the United States Supreme Court had unanimously decided the closely related case of Bush v... - Senior Foreign Policy Advisory Board: Chairman Charles HillCharles Hill (diplomat)Charles Hill is the Diplomat-in-Residence and a lecturer in International Studies at Yale University. A career foreign service officer, Mr. Hill was a senior adviser to George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, and Ronald Reagan, as well as Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the sixth Secretary-General of the United...
, Norman PodhoretzNorman PodhoretzNorman B. Podhoretz is an American neoconservative pundit and writer for Commentary magazine.-Early life:The son of Julius and Helen Podhoretz, Jewish immigrants from the Central European region of Galicia, Podhoretz was born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn...
, SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Bob KastenBob KastenRobert Walter "Bob" Kasten, Jr. , is a Republican politician from the state of Wisconsin who served as a U.S. Representative from 1975 to 1979 and as a U.S. Senator from 1981 to 1993.- Background :Kasten was born in Milwaukee...
. - Senior Statecraft, Human Rights and Freedom Advisor: Peter BerkowitzPeter BerkowitzPeter Berkowitz is an American political scientist, a former law professor, the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and a Senior Fellow at the Jegish Academy on top of the Guggenheim Museum. He holds a J.D. and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale...
- Health care advisors: Daniel P. Kessler, Ph.D., J.D., Professor of Management at the Stanford Graduate School of BusinessStanford Graduate School of BusinessThe Stanford Graduate School of Business is one of the professional schools of Stanford University, in Stanford, California and is broadly regarded as one of the best business schools in the world.The Stanford GSB offers a general management Master of Business Administration degree, the Sloan...
and senior fellow at the Hoover InstitutionHoover InstitutionThe Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
; Scott W. Atlas, M.D., Professor of Radiology and Chief of Neuroradiology at the Stanford University School of MedicineStanford University School of MedicineStanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution; David G. GratzerDavid GratzerDavid George Gratzer is a physician, columnist, author, Congressional expert witness, and a senior fellow at both the Manhattan Institute and the Montreal Economic Institute...
, M.D., board-certified Canadian psychiatrist, senior fellow at the Manhattan InstituteManhattan InstituteThe Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
, and according to the late Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
"a natural-born economist."; Sally C. Pipes, Canadian president and CEO of the Pacific Research InstitutePacific Research InstituteThe Pacific Research Institute , or officially the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is a California-based free-market think tank founded in 1979 whose stated vision is the promotion of "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility"...
, former assistant director of the Fraser InstituteFraser InstituteThe Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles...
, and one of the Top 10 Women in the Conservative Movement; Donald W. Moran, former Executive Associate Director for Budget and Legislation (1981–1985) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under David StockmanDavid StockmanDavid Alan Stockman is a former U.S. politician and businessman, serving as a Republican U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan and as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget ....
during the ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
administration. - New Hampshire operations: veteran Republican activist Wayne Semprini, former state Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(GOP) Chairman.
Giuliani's campaign faced challenges due to repeated scandals involving political associates and campaign staff. In June 2007, the campaign was forced to change its choice for Pennsylvania campaign chair after the media noted the selectee, Pennsylvania GOP National Committeeman Bob Asher
Robert B. Asher
Robert B. "Bob" Asher is an American political figure and businessman and convicted felon from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He is the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Asher’s Chocolates in Pennsylvania and also serves as Pennsylvania's committeeman on the Republican National Committee...
, had been convicted of bribery-related charges in 1986.
Giuliani's state chairman in South Carolina, state treasurer Thomas Ravenel
Thomas Ravenel
Thomas Ravenel is a South Carolina politician and former State Treasurer. He is the son of former South Carolina Congressman Arthur Ravenel, Jr..-Background:...
, was indicted on June 19, 2007 on cocaine distribution charges. Giuliani released a statement saying that Ravenel had stepped down from his position in the Giuliani campaign. Ravenel's father, former congressman Arthur Ravenel Jr., replaced his son as state co-chair. The elder Ravenel had previously seen his own share of controversy due to racially inflammatory remarks. Ravenel has called the NAACP the "National Association of Retarded People" and once said that his fellow white congressional members operated on "black time" which he characterized as meaning "fashionably late."
In July 2007 it was revealed that U.S. Senator and Giuliani Southern Region campaign chair David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
- Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
) had been associated with an alleged Washington prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
service. Subsequently, a former brothel operator from New Orleans also asserted Senator Vitter had been one her clients. Giuliani stated that the allegations were "a personal matter" for Vitter.
In the foreign policy realm, Podhoretz and others drew media attention, because of their neoconservative roots and calls for the assertive use of American power abroad to spread American values.
Endorsements
Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign was endorsed by some notable individuals including businessmen, politicians, athletes, and actors.List of People who endorsed Rudy Giuliani |
|---|
Giuliani's endorsers included: Organizations
Elected officials–current(during time of election)
Elected officials–former
Political–other
Government officials
Businesspeople
Religious leaders
Sports and entertainment
|
Aftermath
Giuliani's run for the presidency ended with a considerable debt. Over a year later, he was still paying it back. During the first quarter of 2009, he gave his campaign $200,000 of his own money, the first time he had done this, but the campaign was still $2.4 million in arrears, the largest such remaining debt for any of the 2008 contenders. To this date, his campaign website still accepts contributions. In addition to this considerable debt, Giuliani's "high appearance fees dropped like a stone" following his failure to win the nomination.See also
- Rudy GiulianiRudy GiulianiRudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
- Political positions of Rudy GiulianiPolitical positions of Rudy GiulianiBelow are remarks and positions of Rudy Giuliani, former candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.An August 2006 poll from Rasmussen Reports showed that the American public perceives Giuliani overall to be a moderate...
- United States presidential election, 2008United States presidential election, 2008The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
External links
- Official website: Join Rudy 2008
- Vote 2008: Rudy Giuliani - Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
- Spartan Internet Political Performance Index Weekly Ranking for Rudy Giuliani