Some say McCain is the front-runner, but it looks to me like Rudy’s got the inside track. He’s managed to appeal to some solid conservatives despite a liberal record on some social issues. So here’s The Pitch, Part II, made by George Will, whose conservative credentials are impeccable:
Seriously, GOP’ers, it’s time to get on board. This is our guy. Sure, there’s a bunch of other choices right now, but for the foreseeable future, politicians from Massachusetts have been skewered by your own lampooning of the social weirdness there, and McCain’s allure has been substantially tempered by the fact that his “maverick” reputation is blunted these days. Rudy’s your guy, and Hillary is being treated like a rock star; just look at the front page of the New York Times, gleefully cooperating with the campaign’s marketing efforts with a perfectly-framed photograph of the campaign sign and web address at a slow-pitch Iowa rally.
Political junkies were very much looking forward to a Guiliani-Clinton showdown for Senate in 2000, and were let down when Rudy had some health (and marital) issues to deal with instead. Looks like we’ll get that showdown at last, next year, on the largest stage of all. It ought to be a lot of fun.
I’m afraid we are going to see this bumper sticker. McCainGuiliani
Oh, that’s too much for the right wing to be asked to swallow, and Rudy must know it. His running mate will be someone with good but not extraordinary social conservative credentials from a southern or western state. Elizabeth Dole would be an interesting choice; picking a woman defuses the female magnetism of Hillary; Dole is solidly conservative, represents a southern state, and is very much a member of the party faitful. And she explored a run for President (briefly) earlier in her career, so she has some interest in the job.