Not that I had any wild enthusiasm for Rudy Giuliani, mind you. Granted, he’s got relatively moderate positions on some social issues (abortion, gay rights), but his “law and order” rep is overblown (read Freakonomics some time), he invokes 9/11 as often as Dubya, and his personal life foibles make the Clintons look like Ward and June Cleaver.
But this is the kiss of death.
Conservative televangelist Pat Robertson praised the pro-choice, pro-gay rights Rudy Giuliani to the rafters yesterday – stopping just short of giving the former mayor his blessing for the presidency.
“This is supposed to be a nonpolitical thing,” Robertson said in introducing Giuliani at a lecture series at the preacher’s Regent University here. “But we would be remiss to forget the fact that he seems to be running for President.”
“And in point of fact,” added Robertson, a co-founder of the powerful Christian Coalition, “he may one day become not New York’s mayor, but America’s leader. So it’s a great pleasure to welcome a dear friend and a great leader.”
Guilt by association is sometimes dubious, and I understand the political pressures to play nice with the social conservatives if you have any hopes in the GOP primary circuit … but if Pat Robertson is for you, that’s at least a strike-and-a-half in my book. And Giuliani’s sucking up to Robertson and his Regent University (a dismally-rated law school that’s managed to flood the Bush Administration with its grads) makes it clear he’s more willing to defy the “terrorists” than the Religious Right.
There are far worse contenders in the GOP aspirant pool, and I’d rather see Giuliani on the final ticket than some of the other goofballs over there — but there are a whole lot of Dems I’d rather see than Rudy in the White House.
(via J-Walk)