I Accept This Rudy For All His Faults

There's plenty to be said about America's Mayor, and given his current popularity, much will be said. Given his diversified worldview, few disagree that there is a Rudy for everyone.

Because this presidential election will ultimately make way for America's path in the War on Terror, there may never be a better time for Rudy Giuliani to receive the nomination. The Democrats are likely to champion the "anti-war" position - no protection under the Patriot Act, immediate retreat from Iraq - while Giuliani remains a consistent but civil advocate for getting the job done at home and abroad. While many conservatives find him weak on domestic policies, few can deny that he has the necessary will to protect all Americans, whether serving in the military, or living amongst the civilian population.

The Democrats' biggest problem: when Americans think of 9/11, they think of Rudy Giuliani.

He dealt with the issue firsthand, and his leadership and charisma were vital in restoring not only New Yorkers, but America's ability to get on with their lives. As of now, no contending Democrat has a public image of confidence and security that Giuliani has. The same can be said just as easily about Giuliani's Republican contenders.

As of yet, there is no Republican candidate who can compete with Rudy Giuliani on the most important issue of our time - Radical Islam. While he masterminded the troop surge in Iraq, Arizona's Senator John McCain has lost credibility with conservative voters on many domestic policies. Although to the contrary, Mitt Romney, the Governor of Massachussetts, has morphed into a solid conservative over the last few years, he has established himself as a flip-flopper in doing so. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas is a strong social conservative, but he is weak on border security. While I leave many second tier candidates unnamed, I have my reasons: they won't get the nomination. The only potential and viable alternative to Rudy Giuliani at this point is former Senator Fred Thompson, and he might not even run for office.

Indeed, Giuliani's resume as Mayor of New York City is impressive for many Americans. Prior to Mayor, he served as Associate Attorney General under Ronald Reagan in 1981. In 1983, he became United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Under Giuliani as Mayor, overall crime decreased by 56%, and murder by 66%, making New York City the safest large city in the country according to the FBI. Not a bad record for a nation that is weary of crime and terrorism, both foreign and domestic.

His economic performance was met with the same successes. When Giuliani first took office, one in seven New Yorkers were on welfare. Welfare rolls were reduced by 60% as a result of a welfare-to-work initiative, or "workfare," for buzzword's sake. In addition, 23 city taxes were either reduced or eliminated, turning a $2.3 billion budget deficit into an enormous surplus. As a result, 423,000 private sector jobs were created in his two terms as Mayor, and tourism grew to an all-time high.

In response to his leadership, Giuliani has won enormous praise from former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, now serving as Senior Policy Advisor for Giuliani's campaign. In an op-ed from the Wall Street Journal, Forbes writes:

"He set out to restore fiscal discipline to the 'ungovernable city' – and achieved results that Reagan Republicans can applaud."

Rudy has also received praise from columnist George F. Will, who has criticized the Bush Administration as too optimistic about the War in Iraq. He says of Giuliani:

"His eight years as mayor of New York were the most successful episode of conservative governance in this country in the last 50 years."

Other endorsements include neolibertarian comedian and talk show host Dennis Miller, Michigan state Rep. Jack Brandenburg, and former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas Richard Blankenship.

Rudy's biggest problem: his ornery conservative base. While many applaud his accomplishments as Mayor of New York City, as well as his contagious tranquility on 9/11, the domestic issues have hurt Giuliani the most. He supports legalized abortion, although he now oppposes partial-birth abortion. He has praised both John Roberts and Samuel Alito of the Supreme Court...

"I think the appointment of judges that I would make would be very similar to if not exactly the same as the last two judges that were appointed. Chief Justice Roberts is somebody I work with, somebody I admire. Justice Alito, someone I knew when he was US attorney, also admire. If I had been president over the last four years, I can't think of any-- that I'd do anything different with that."

...while delivering a bothersome complement for the radical ex-ACLU General Counsel turned Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

"And what's important to me is to have a very intelligent, very honest, very good lawyer on the court. And [John Roberts] fits that category, in the same way Justice Ginsburg fit that category. I mean, she was -- she maybe came at it from a very different political background, very qualified lawyer, very smart person."

Other criticisms include gun control, illegal immigration, and a "Kerry-esque" stance on homosexuality. Yet in spite of a handful of liberal positions, Giuliani is most loathed for attending a Gay Pride event in drag. However, if he manages to keep his Dukakis moments to a minimum, he will maintain his popularity as America's Mayor, rather than the "Drag Queen of New York."

Social conservatives find these domestic policies comparable to Bill Clinton. They are also comparable to Barry Goldwater and Margaret Thatcher, who both advocated expanded rights for homosexuals and legalized abortion. Yet today, many conservatives continue to revive them as heroes who stood up to their enemies, as well as the establishment, in times of great moral conflict.

Social conservatism will be remembered for 2004, when "moral values" defined the re-election of President Bush, in spite of harsh criticism for the Iraq War. Predictably, the social conservative movement has since lost ground, as Congress was soft on the positions that mattered most to the American public. Consider the mid-term elections in 2006.

The Grand Old Party made every effort to repeat its prior successes with a brilliantly crafted catchphrase: "San Francisco Values." Considering the indictments leading up to the election, real (Mark Foley) or fake (Tom DeLay), even the most religious voters weren't swayed into voting straight GOP. It didn't matter that William Jefferson had nearly $100,000 found in his freezer, or that Harry Reid accepted illegal bribes from the boxing industry, because the GOP did not fight back. Now, we have Speaker Pelosi, and we don't know what to do with her.

Domestic issues aside, neither Rudy's Republican or Democratic opponents can compete with the leadership we saw on 9/11. Rudy Giuliani has the charisma to unite America that his contenders lack. Barack Obama has a sense of civility, but his lack of experience in any given area will be difficult to overcome. Hillary Clinton is effortlessly exposable as a partisan panderer. John Edwards hasn't reinvented himself, and is still obsessed with "The Two Americas."

While "San Francisco Values" was a slick cliche for a while, it has been worn out to exhaustion. It's time to mature as American citizens and focus on the number one issue of our time. The Presidential Election of 2008 will remain crucial, and our direction in the War on Terror will be determined once and for all.