I spoke with Rudy Campaign Manager Mike DuHaime by phone this morning. He describes the Saturday speech in Florida as a good point to turn from campaign fundraising( which Rudy has been doing a lot of) and “make his case directly” to the voters. He sees this as an opportunity to take Rudy’s message out of the minutiae of the campaign and talk about his “vision for the future of the country.” What do they think of Huckaboom? They see the race as “very fluid” with “many serious candidates.”( Me: I read this as so much for the 2-man race theory.) Expect to see Rudy spending time in Florida but also NH and Iowa. Echoing the Rudy strategy from day one, he says this is “about getting the most delegates.” I asked about the Iowa debate which bizarrely excluded Iraq and immigration. DuHaime avoided any criticism of the moderator but said “We would love the debate and the campaign to be focused on the big issues” which he defines as dealing with economic and security threats. For those small government lovers among us, he stressed that Rudy has long been an advocate of “accountability, cutting spending and fiscal discipline.” He closed with what, I suspect, may be the main way he differentiates himself from his competitors:” it’s one thing to make promises, it’s another to actually get things done.”
