A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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January 17, 2008Why Has Giuliani Sunk So Low?I've been flabbergasted to see the once-mighty Giuliani sink so low in the polls. Not being a Republican, I didn't really understand. Nor did I feel like MY reason for being deeply dubious about voting for him was likely to apply too widely. My reason is that some heroes can come to feel they're above the democracy, and his character doesn't give me much hope he'd be up to, say, General Eisenhower on that score. So here's a linkfest of some different reasons google turned up. It looks to me like we're looking at not so much one reason as a sort of anti-coalition of different reasons for people not trusting him. Many, many lefties don't like him because he's pro-war and has even been defending Bush, even stretching to historically wrong analogies to Lincoln (he claimed the Civil War was unpopular, too, but it was actually very popular in the North except for big cities, since Lincoln managed its politics much more cleverly and energetically, and didn't get his public claims in advance of facts). Oh, and Lincoln was planning his occupation well before the war ended instead of having to be banged on the head electorally to do it three years after war's end. Now we start on the righties. Here's one who doesn't want a daddy state (not too off from my motivations, except he gets there by observation of past behavior instead of my vague fear). Brendan Nyhan calls Giuliani Polarizing and unpopular. He notes that alot of his support suddenly vanished once he stopped being frontrunner, no doubt socially conservative Republicans feeling they didn't have to put up with supporting him anymore. Here's a rightie press - Weekly Standard - strategery complaint. Posted by Jon Kay at January 17, 2008 03:06 AMComments
Let me offer another reason not to be a fan of Giuliani for President (although I have the impression, from the far side of the continent, he was an effective mayor): I see him continuing the political nastiness of the past decade, not to mention the most reprehensible policies of the current administation (torture, imprisonment without judicial review, etc.). I guess what it comes down to is: As a former Giuliani supporter, let me give my reasons for leaving the fold. I liked him because I believed he had a good balance of toughness and compassion. But as he campaigned for president, I saw a man too small for the job -- his mayoral experience wasn't translating to national policy and he ended up with nothing more than his 9/11 performance to run on. Being cool under fire is important for a president, but there's got to be more. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to want to show more. He's only compounded this problem by not showing up for the early primaries. He's really missed the chance to make his case while the national media is present. A poor campaigner with a poor strategy will lose every time. Posted by: Alan at January 17, 2008 02:49 PMSomewhat echo of Alan. G's decision to not compete in the earlier primaries and pursue a Super Tuesday strategy has kept him out of the news, which has cost him enormously. If he were a bit smarter he would have put on a full-court press in Nevada, just to kick himself back into the press cycle. Instead he's betting on Florida, but that is looking too late in the run-up to ST to give him the buzz he needs. Posted by: Tully at January 17, 2008 04:29 PMI saw a man too small for the job That rings true for me, but it's as much a visceral response as it is based on his resume. Posted by: critter at January 17, 2008 05:43 PMOTOH, there's also the consideration that someone who can't manage a winning campaign strategy may not be up for the job.... Seriously, a big part of bothering to have primary campaigns is to see how the candidates can handle adversity and prolonged stress. That being a job requirement and all. Posted by: Tully at January 17, 2008 08:20 PMPlease post a comment
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