I've never been good about following politics, and to be honest, I never really cared that much. However, now that I'm eligible to vote in the next election, and because I live in the political capitol of the world, I deem it necessary to get involved and become politically aware. So last week I decided to thoroughly read about all the candidates running in the 2008 election, since I really only knew about them from headlines in the news (embarrassing, I know).
I am a registered independent, and my views do swing both ways, so I thought that I would be most impressed by Giuliani since he seems like the most moderate candidate of them all. However, I was shocked when I was reading about his policy views and how he feels about certain issues that are critical for the next election.
When I was reading about his views on "War and Peace" I felt as if he is a prime example of why foreign countries hate us and the epitome of the superiority complex that Americans have. In one example, he states: "Liberating the Iraqis is something we should be proud of" (http://ontheissues.org/Rudy_Giuliani.htm). As well (from the same site), "Negotiate with Iran, but fully prepared for force". and "We've never won a war while discussing how to retreat". I'm not intentionally trying to pick sides or say that Giuliani is ultimately wrong; however, I was shocked to hear how arrogant he seems to come off, when the whole time I thought he would be a little more liberal in his mindset when it came to the War in Iraq. I live right outside New York City, and I witnesses firsthand how he restored the city and what a people person he is, but this I was not expecting. I'm sorry but backing up your words in Iran with force just does not seem like a peaceful idea to me... I also can see why some Iraqis hate us so much.. because we did barge into their country and liberate them, and no one asked us to. I think that we definitely helped the country to take a step in the right direction, and their country did need to be reformed from its devastated state, but how would America feel if take France for example, barged onto our territory and dictated how the country should be established and ran politically.. Americans would be in an uproar as well. I felt as if Giuliani was very blunt and on a one track mind, when I felt as if he gave off different vibes in the past.
There is a new article out though stating the Giuliani is seen as the "Most Electable Candidate" and it could be very beneficial for the Republican party if he is the front running candidate, especially against Clinton, because a lot of Democrats/Independents who aren't ready for a female voter will vote for Giuliani since he is the most moderate. My question is though, if a major issue of the next election is the War in Iraq, will this be detrimental to Giuliani for those swing voters who don't necessarily want a female President, but are very anti-war as well, given Giuliani's views?
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Tuesday’s two hour long debate in Philadelphia was the most heated yet. With the “big 3” finally taking shots at each other it was an action packed evening. But the candidates also took shots at the republicans. Joe Biden perhaps had the statement of the night. He said “Giuliani only says three things in a sentence: a noun, a verb, and 9/11.” I believe the reason Giuliani is like so much by republicans is because he says very little. This is the epitome of less is more. He tries to remind us that we should live in fear. This has been Bush’s playing card for the last six years, and it probably got him elected in 2004. So it does not surprise me that he is most appealing to the Republican Party.
I would also like to address the notion that he is a moderate. Although he does support a woman’s right to a choice and supports domestic partnerships, he is still fairly conservative. I would argue with that any person talking about the past (9/11) and talking of little change, is far from moderate. Lets not kid ourselves; the main issue in the 2008 election will be foreign policy with the Middle East. Proof of this is the amount of time the debates and political pundits spend of foreign policy issues. Giuliani did not say that he ruled out diplomacy, but is not afraid of war. It seems as though he would repeat the same mistakes in Iran as Bush has done in Iraq.
Giuliani has one problem with the Republican Party. That problem is the Evangelicals. They absolutely do not like for the obvious reasons: his views on abortion and civil unions. I was watching the Situation Room on CNN today, and they said that more then half of Evangelicals would not have a problem supporting a more conservative third party candidate. The Evangelicals are personally responsible for the election of Bush in 2000 and 2004. Almost a quarter of the people who voted in 2004 were White Born-Again Evangelicals. Giuliani is by no means loved by all republicans, but his issues and small talk connect well with many people on the fence.
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