The American Spectator

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Religious Conservatives and Giuliani

By Hunter Baker on 8.29.06 @ 2:47PM

Giuliani is certainly vulnerable to an attack from the right. There's no doubt about that, but he is extraordinarily likeable and an outstanding speaker. I fall into the religious conservative category, myself, but I enjoyed his convention speech immensely and recognize within him outstanding qualities of leadership. If he were to make the nod toward originalists/textualists on the Supreme Court, I think he could have my support.

It is impossible to underestimate how frustrated people are with the inarticulateness of Bush and how much they would like to see a GOP candidate who is actually capable of defending himself and advancing a point of view. The War on Terror should have been an easier sell than it has been with Bush. His terrible communication skills are part of the problem. I supported the man whole-heartedly, but I'd rather watch a bunch of guys dig a ditch (or really, anything) than catch one of his speeches with those three and four word salvos followed by weird shoulder shrugs.

Rudy offers a lot of hope on this front. I think he could keep Americans united on the problem of Islamo-fascism. He's got a Teddy Roosevelt thing going on that can light some fires. Unlike the GOP types who run from pro-life in blue states, he can run from pro-choice and pledge his own version of Romney-esque abortion status quo-ism.

topics:
Islam, Abortion, Fascism