Rudy Giuliani Hints that the End Might Be Near for His Presidential Campaign

Posted by Jason Easley on 01.29.2008

It looks like win or go home tonight for the former Republican frontrunner.

Today Rudy Giuliani hinted that if he doesn't win in Florida tonight, he may withdraw from the Republican primary race. "Wednesday morning, we'll make a decision. The winner of Florida will win the nomination; we're going to win Florida," Giuliani said. The reality is that despite exclusively campaigning in the Sunshine State, the former New York City mayor is trailing both John McCain and Mitt Romney in all the polls. Giuliani's support has leveled off to the 13%-15% range, and the latest polls have shown him slipping into fourth place in the state behind Mike Huckabee.

Much of the name based in enthusiasm that Giuliani generated among Republican voters vanished once they actually got a dose of the man himself. The man who was such a poised leader immediately after 9/11, on the campaign trail looks like an uncomfortable and awkward candidate. Instead of projecting poise and leadership, too often he comes off as weird. Giuliani never had the personal or professional resume of a Republican nominee. If he was going to win the nomination, he had to portray the post-9/11 myth of Rudy Giuliani.

The Giuliani that we have seen on the campaign trail lacks any sort of unique policy ideas, or vision for America. He has tried on many different hats in this campaign. He has been a terrorism expert, a fiscal conservative, and now he is a messenger of hope and change. Giuliani is really nothing more than a politically ambitious former mayor who hoped to ride to the White House on the backs of those who lost their lives on 9/11. His campaign foolishly thought that they could hide his views on abortion and gun control by skipping the early voting states. In his only attempt in an early voting state, Giuliani spent lots of time and money in New Hampshire only to finish near the bottom on election night.

Giuliani ignored the value of momentum in a primary campaign. John McCain understood it, and that is why his New Hampshire gamble worked. By sitting out most of the early race Giuliani has put himself in a position where he has no momentum, no money, and waning support. His best move after tonight would be to pack it in and go home. He never was a good fit for the Republican Party, and voters have so far repeatedly sent the message that he is not the person that they want representing them in a general election. Giuliani represents the politics of fear at a time when Americans in both parties are looking for hope. It is time for a change, and that is something that Rudy Giuliani never seemed interested in offering.