Sliding Support Forces Giuliani To Retool Campaign
BY NICHOLAS WAPSHOTT
N.Y. Sun
After showing national voters for the first time his caustic personal style of politics, and amid ongoing innuendo about his time in City Hall, Mayor Giuliani is plagued by sliding poll figures in key early states and is being forced to retool his presidential campaign.
An appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning, which a month ago might have seemed routine, has taken on a new importance, coming at a time when confidence in Mr. Giuliani's ability to win the Republican nomination appears to be melting away. The keynote interview with Tim Russert is seen by the Giuliani campaign as a firewall that must bring to a halt two weeks of troubling news for their candidate, which is reflected in his dipping poll numbers.
Once the undoubted Republican front-runner, the former New York mayor has lost momentum recently thanks to the rapid rise in the fortunes of a former Arkansas governor, Michael Huckabee. But Mr. Giuliani's personal issues have also worked to smother his appeal as the candidate with a solid record in government most likely to be able to beat Senator Clinton in a general election.
At the Republican YouTube debate on November 28, many Republicans were surprised at the venom with which Mr. Giuliani turned on his rival Mitt Romney, who until recently was the frontrunner in Iowa and New Hampshire, with the renewed accusation that the former Massachusetts governor had employed illegal immigrants to cut his lawn.
And the lingering suggestion that emerged earlier that day — that the cost of Mr. Giuliani's security detail while he was wooing his third wife, Judith Nathan, in the Hamptons was hidden in the accounts of obscure city agencies, coupled with the impending trial of his former police chief, Bernard Kerik, for fraud — has left some wondering how many more skeletons will emerge from his City Hall years.
(Continued here.)
N.Y. Sun
After showing national voters for the first time his caustic personal style of politics, and amid ongoing innuendo about his time in City Hall, Mayor Giuliani is plagued by sliding poll figures in key early states and is being forced to retool his presidential campaign.
An appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning, which a month ago might have seemed routine, has taken on a new importance, coming at a time when confidence in Mr. Giuliani's ability to win the Republican nomination appears to be melting away. The keynote interview with Tim Russert is seen by the Giuliani campaign as a firewall that must bring to a halt two weeks of troubling news for their candidate, which is reflected in his dipping poll numbers.
Once the undoubted Republican front-runner, the former New York mayor has lost momentum recently thanks to the rapid rise in the fortunes of a former Arkansas governor, Michael Huckabee. But Mr. Giuliani's personal issues have also worked to smother his appeal as the candidate with a solid record in government most likely to be able to beat Senator Clinton in a general election.
At the Republican YouTube debate on November 28, many Republicans were surprised at the venom with which Mr. Giuliani turned on his rival Mitt Romney, who until recently was the frontrunner in Iowa and New Hampshire, with the renewed accusation that the former Massachusetts governor had employed illegal immigrants to cut his lawn.
And the lingering suggestion that emerged earlier that day — that the cost of Mr. Giuliani's security detail while he was wooing his third wife, Judith Nathan, in the Hamptons was hidden in the accounts of obscure city agencies, coupled with the impending trial of his former police chief, Bernard Kerik, for fraud — has left some wondering how many more skeletons will emerge from his City Hall years.
(Continued here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home