Whomever it may be, the GOP nominee will be chosen by the Bush Mafia TO LOSE the 2008 election and set the table for Jeb in 2012 or 16.

(That's assuming Jeb doesn't run in 08, as it will take 4-8 years to pull the name "Bush" from the mud again -- as it did with Bushdaddy after his 1992 loss.)

Kerik is mobbed up, which is, amazingly the least of his bad parts.

I think you are selling him short Jonathan.

-C.

Sitkah,

The GOP doesn't set themselves up to lose power ever. They fight all their losing battles. They'll throw some legislative battles, but that's policy, this is power, and they never throw away power.

Jonathon,

If there really were going to be a lot of big important questions about Giuliani's readiness I might agree with you. But despite all the information available about Rice and Bush and their lack of preparation before the 9-11 attacks, either the doubts haven't become a part of the media narrative/zeitgeist, or people haave a knee-jerk reaction to reject these doubts along with the people on TV spreading them.

I don't think "outstanding questions about his preparation and response to 9/11" will hurt Giuliani unless they make it out of the blogosphere into the corporate media in a really big way.

Dude...my wife's family is a NYC firefighting family...parents, uncles and inlaws of that generation on the job, multiple siblings and cousins in the FDNY and EMS  (some in the most famous of pictures from that day).

They all despise Giuliani.  And it has nothing to do with 9/11; he was a dirty dog who kept a mistress and fooled around behind his kids backs.

The fact the things went wrong on 9/11 is less of a concern than the way he carries out his personal life.

Jezz; compare the Clintons.  A couple with marital-infidelty who chose to stay together...vs the multiply divorced Giuliani.  

But yet he's a receient of right-wing platitudes; I hope they don't dig too deeply into their right-wing hero's real life...

I agree with two earlier posts in this thread. Guiliani was no doubt vastly overhyped in regard to 9/11 but that's largely irrelevant since the perception of that day is more or less cemented in public opinion. I severely doubt further questioning will change much in that regard. However, the reality that Guiliani was headed toward political oblivion prior to 9/11 is a much bigger problem for him, since those factors are real and will be scrutinized and have weight, once the details are resurrected.

I post one a couple of balanced political sites and many of the hard right wingers are supporting Guiliani. That's what amazed me and I think we're nuts to ignore it. Especially since Guiliani leads decisively in the statewide polling by Strategic Vision in regard to Republican preference for 2008, in every state they've sampled other than Michigan. If they don't have an ideal top tier conservative the default is apparently most electable and in their view that's Guiliani. Combined with a dislike and distrust of McCain.

I've always thought it interesting that former Mayor Giuliani became a national hero and Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" in 2001 by merely showing up for work and trying to do his job on 9/11.  I've never seen it mentioned, but he gained his notoriety by doing what Bush, Cheney and company were afraid to do that day: stay on the job.  Although the 9/11 Commission members might have a problem with Giuliani's behavior on 9/11, I would rather they provide the public with information about what Bush was doing while he ran and hid -- not once, but twice -- that day.

Stuart Shaffer's comment resonates with me.  Giuliani has his faults for sure, but when disaster hit he ran Toward the trouble instead of Away from it (Welcome to Nebraska, Mr, Bush). The contrast was dramatic.

BTW I live in the Bible belt and the right-wing Christians would never support a flagrant adulterer (unless he cried on television and explained how the devil made him do it and God has now granted him forgiveness.)  Don't know if Giuliani's spine is that supple.

Wasn't Gulliani behind the push to move NYC's emergency management center to 7 World Trade? If I remember correctly it was all the diesel being stored on one of the above ground level floors that caused the fire that ended up with building 7 being destroyed - not any direct cause of either of the two main towers catastrophic collapse.

Fair minded folk could say that that putting an emergency crisis center a)so close to an obvious epicenter of terrorist targeting and b)in an ordinary office building might no of been the wisest idea...

To me the true "Rudy" is evidenced by his personal behavior as well as his generally poor selection of camp followers. His media presence and "good ol' guy" index is high nevertheless though, and that counts a lot for the general public and those of a right leaning tilt in particular.

I think Giuliani's preparedness for 9/11 and any other disaster was piss poor.  After all, placing the emergency command center in 7 WTC, right across from the main complex was dumb.  Remember, terrorists had already tried once to blow up the WTC.  

However, I have to give the devil his due.  On the day of 9/11 and in the days immediately after he was a rock when one was needed since Bush was AWOL.

Typical Giuliani, he took his fine performance that day and tried to use it to postpone the upcoming mayoral election under the need for "continuity".  No one bought it and the election moved forward as scheduled.  Interestingly, the city did not suffer after he left office.

I think Giuliani's smoking crack if he believes 9/11 will make all of his problems before that day disappear.  You can bet one of his primary opponents will use the videotape of Rudy announcing his divorce to the press before telling his then wife Donna.