Rudy! Giuliani is going to run for President again?
Recall that in 2005, Giuliani began preparations after a “Draft Rudy” movement formed (and of course he had a hand in that, let’s not be sly about that). He declared in 2007 and quickly supplanted John McCain as the Republican front-runner in the early stages of the primaries. He raised more money than anyone (Mitt Romney had more money than anyone, but that’s because he tapped his own personal fortune). He attracted a lot of attention and support. Hell, I supported him.
Then Rudy! got some bad polling numbers from Iowa basically dropped out of the Iowa caucuses, coming in sixth out of seven major candidates there. Then, he came in fourth place out of eight in New Hampshire, attracting barely 9% of the total vote. Then, he came in sixth place three times in a row — in Michigan he got 3% of the vote, in Nevada 4%, and in South Carolina 2%. He put all his eggs in the basket of Florida’s early primary, coming in third place with not quite 15% of the vote, and that was basically it.
That’s a pretty miserable showing for over seventy-five million dollars spent. Despite promising to appoint “strict constructionist” judges and coming as close as he could to flip-flopping on abortion, Rudy! just never caught on with conservative voters; he never shook off the mud slung at him concerning his personal life. Now, he says “there’s opportunity for a moderate candidate with a background in national security.” Maybe, Yerhonner, but that candidate isn’t you.
Rudy!, your moment has passed. Your moment was really in 2004, but good for you, you were loyal to the party and didn’t challenge W. And you didn’t angle for a Cabinet position, either, which you should have done to burnish your resume for 2008. Instead, you went for the money, founding a security consultancy and attaching your name to a high-powered law firm.
By the time of the first election in 2012, it will have been more than ten years since you last really got to shine as a holder of public office. The remainder of your professional life is going to consist of security and governmental consulting for your consulting firm for as long as people will listen to you, and rainmaking for your top-100 law firm, and you’ve already got all the money you’ll ever need to live as comfortably as you want and leave a lot for your hot wife and your adult kids, both estranged and still-gruntled.
Granted, you have to pay for your own plane, but all things considered, this is a damn sweet setup you’ve got going. Enjoy it, and let me dream a dream about Gary Johnson in 2012, until harsh reality intrudes on that.
