Presidential Candidate Profile: Rudolph Giuliani

It has been a while since I have posted here. It is not that I have not been following the issues of the day. The birth of my daughter three weeks ago has taken most of my attention and has left me to be less than attentive to this site. Rudy? This is a tough profile for me. If I lived anywhere other than the northeast I would probably be on this page tearing Rudy apart and pointing out all of his faults as a candidate. The fact is however, I live in New Jersey and have watched Rudy govern up close. On the negative side is the fact that Rudy is a social liberal, he always has been. He supports abortion, gay rights and gun control. He courts conservative voters with the promise that he will appoint strict constructionist judges and would not rule out judges who oppose Roe vs. Wade. I believe Rudy. I cannot see Rudy appointing inept judges such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the court. I also take him at his word that he is now opposed to gay marriage and will not attempt to strengthen gun laws in an activist liberal way.

The positives for Rudy are that he is a fiscal conservative who believes in and can explain supply side economics, he is very strong on national defense and he is a fighter. Many will point out rampant spending while he was the mayor of New York City but considering the reality of city politics Rudy was the Ronald Reagan of city government. On defense issues I have no doubt that Rudy would do anything in his power to defend this country. I have been to New York City prior to his administration and after and the difference is remarkable. Rudy did what was necessary to clean up the city and battled every critic that came his way. He never backed down and caved in to his critics. This brings me to his greatest strength. Rudy would not fight a war to appease the media. He also would not attempt to compromise with his critics. New York newspapers routinely published pictures of Rudy with a Hitler moustache and glorified protests against him. He never attempted to appease those critics or attempted to make them like him. He just moved forward with what he believed in.

I will admit that Rudy is not the perfect candidate. I am not likely to endorse him in the primary. I will say however that if he gets the Republican nomination for president I would have no trouble supporting him. The Democratic nominee if elected will push for more abortions with less restrictions. It would be foolish to shun a candidate who would at worst maintain the status quo and at best could appoint conservative judges. The Democratic nominee would also raise taxes, gut the military and attempt to make friends with our enemies. These are all issues where Giuliani shines. I would have no problem voting for Rudy Giuliani.