Giuliani takes step toward '08 bid

Ron Burgundy · 11-13-2006, 09:31 PM

AP - Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a moderate Republican best known for his stewardship of the city after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has taken the first step in a 2008 presidential bid.

WASHINGTON - Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a moderate Republican best known for his stewardship of the city after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has taken the first step in a 2008 presidential bid.
The former mayor filed papers to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., establishing a New York-based panel that would allow him to raise money to explore a White House run and travel the country.

The four-page filing, obtained by The Associated Press, lists the purpose of the non-profit corporation "to conduct federal 'testing the waters' activity under the Federal Election Campaign Act for Rudy Giuliani."

The paperwork, dated last Friday, is signed by Bobby Burchfield, a partner at the DC-based law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, a firm that handles political work.

"Mayor Giuliani has not made a decision yet," Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said in a statement Monday night. "With the filing of this document, we have taken the necessary legal steps so an organization can be put in place and money can be raised to explore a possible presidential run in 2008."

One potential rival for the GOP nomination, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, said Sunday he was taking the initial step of setting up an exploratory committee.

Under federal election law, an exploratory committee allows an individual to travel and gauge the level of support for a candidacy without formally declaring themselves a candidate and adhering to all the federal rules of fundraising. An individual who spends money only to test the waters — but not to campaign for office — does not have to register as a candidate under the election law.

The GOP field is expected to grow with Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Bill Frist (news, bio, voting record) of Tennessee, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and New York Gov. George Pataki expected to join the presidential fray.

Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa has filed to establish a full-blown campaign committee and will make a more formal announcement of his candidacy later this month.

Giuliani was widely praised for leading the city during and after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has said for months that he would wait until the end of the 2006 elections to decide whether to embark on a White House bid.

The former mayor is a moderate who supports gun control, same-sex civil unions, embryonic stem-cell research and abortion rights — stands that would put him at odds with the majority of the GOP conservative base.

Giuliani has tried to sidestep those differences and offered strong praise for President Bush at the 2004 GOP convention in New York.

"It doesn't matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him. They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan. But like President Bush, they were optimists. Leaders need to be optimists. Their vision is beyond the present, and it's set on a future of real peace and security," Giuliani said.

"Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership."

In 2006, the Giuliani brand remained strong. He headlined fundraisers for Republican candidates nationwide and his travel has done little to deny 2008 ambitions. During a visit earlier this month to Columbia, S.C., Giuliani dodged the question: "There's a chance, but that's after this election is over."

He then left South Carolina for New Hampshire, site of the nation's first primary and another GOP fundraiser.

Giuliani enjoys strong name recognition and a recent AP-AOL News poll conducted in late October found that among Republicans Giuliani was essentially tied with Condoleezza Rice and McCain on who they would most like to see elected president in 2008.

Rice has insisted that she will not run.

Giuliani, who was in his final months as New York City mayor when a pair of planes crashed into the World Trade Center's towers, became a national hero. Within hours of the attack, the mayor was visiting the site, caked in dust and walking through the chaos — a moment replayed repeatedly on television.

Assuming the role of "America's Mayor" and Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2001, Giuliani remained an in-demand speaker and GOP fundraiser. He was the first Republican to lead New York in decades, had cut crime and redeveloped rundown parts of the city.

He was a former U.S. attorney, leading campaigns against organized crime and corruption. He spent two years as the Justice Department's No. 3 post, overseeing all U.S. attorneys, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Brooklyn native was first elected New York's mayor in 1993.

Giuliani eyed a run for the U.S. Senate in 2000, but ended that bid while battling prostate cancer and a made-for-tabloids divorce from television personality Donna Hanover. The messy divorce and his relationship with Judith Nathan also made his campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton all the more difficult.

Long before the Sept. 11 attacks, the mayor cultivated a kind of celebrity status. He made a cameo on "Seinfeld" in 1993 and "Mad About You" the next year. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1997 and followed up with other cameos. And in 2002, he was a presenter at MTV's Video Music Awards.

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The filing is available at: http://wid.ap.org/documents/giuliani_filing.pdf

6SpeedTA95 · 11-14-2006, 12:11 AM

This is fantastic IMO. He's a socially moderate guy like myself and fiscally conservative. He cut taxes, cut crime, cut spending, made education better all while presiding over the largest metro are in the country.

motivez · 11-14-2006, 12:31 AM

It's going to be a good fight between McCain and Giuliani IMO.. but at least due to the midterms, if a Republican wins in '08, it'll be a moderate and not far right wing person.

TheScatman · 11-14-2006, 02:12 AM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

This is fantastic IMO. He's a socially moderate guy like myself and fiscally conservative. He cut taxes, cut crime, cut spending, made education better all while presiding over the largest metro are in the country.

Yea I agree hes okay on some issues..but he doesnt seem like the kind of guys who would stand up and try to get power out of washington, reform social security, balanced budget, etc.

SoFlaJDM · 11-14-2006, 09:36 AM

let's see how the pro life,anti gay marriage, 2nd amendment guys justify voting for him

ballz2wallz · 11-14-2006, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by motivez

if a Republican wins in '08, it'll be a moderate and not far right wing person.

Dear God please let us have someone more conservative than Bush. He could hardly be called conservative with the way he runs the government.

Stylerod · 11-14-2006, 10:09 AM

I just saw Giuliani speak yesterday. He was great. I had to leave before Colin Powell spoke though

Vietvet · 11-14-2006, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

This is fantastic IMO. He's a socially moderate guy like myself and fiscally conservative. He cut taxes, cut crime, cut spending, made education better all while presiding over the largest metro are in the country.

Yeah, and he's also pro gay rights, pro gun control and pro choice. That's really gonna help him in the primaries, especially in the south.

Republicans now have reaped what they've sown, and the "core" of the Republican party is in the deep south. I think we'll probably see some far right wacko like Gingrich or Sam Brownback make it through the primaries, and then a landslide victory for Democrats.

Phantom · 11-14-2006, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by Vietvet

Yeah, and he's also pro gay rights, pro gun control and pro choice. That's really gonna help him in the primaries, especially in the south. Republicans now have reaped what they've sown, and the "core" of the Republican party is in the deep south. I think we'll probably see some far right wacko like Gingrich or Sam Brownback make it through the primaries, and then a landslide victory for Democrats.

Gingrich is a far right wacko?

Vietvet · 11-14-2006, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Phantom

Gingrich is a far right wacko?

Uh, yeah, the last time I checked. Why would you say he is not?

Diesel66 · 11-14-2006, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by SoFlaJDM

let's see how the pro life,anti gay marriage, 2nd amendment guys justify voting for him

voting libertatian or constitution party if he runs.

Vietvet · 11-14-2006, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by ballz2wallz

Dear God please let us have someone more conservative than Bush. He could hardly be called conservative with the way he runs the government.

Well, Rudy ain't the one your looking for, then...

lew · 11-14-2006, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Diesel66

voting libertatian or constitution party if he runs.

lew · 11-14-2006, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by Vietvet

Uh, yeah, the last time I checked. Why would you say he is not?

Because he's not.

Vietvet · 11-14-2006, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by lew

Because he's not.

Let's see, he tried his best to gut every social program and get rid of every safety net, all in the name of "shrinking government." He wanted to get rid of the school lunch program, and basically waged a "war against the impoverished." Other than that, I guess he was fairly moderate. Maybe you can elaborate a little on why you think he's anything other than a goose-stepper....

Phantom · 11-14-2006, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Vietvet

Let's see, he tried his best to gut every social program and get rid of every safety net, all in the name of "shrinking government." He wanted to get rid of the school lunch program, and basically waged a "war against the impoverished." Other than that, I guess he was fairly moderate. Maybe you can elaborate a little on why you think he's anything other than a goose-stepper....

Gingrich and Clinton working together, those guys are both right wing nutjobs, aren't they?

DosEquis · 11-14-2006, 10:57 AM

Rudy is closer to conservative democrat than he is republican. Rudy is as much of a republican as Ben Nelson is a democrat.

Vietvet · 11-14-2006, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by Phantom

Gingrich and Clinton working together, those guys are both right wing nutjobs, aren't they?

I think you've got it wrong. It's more like Clinton outsmarting Gingrich at every turn. Gingrich dared Clinton not to sign a far-right budget . Clinton let the government shut down for a few days. Clinton also knew that he had to comprimise on welfare reform, but he didn't "gut" all the programs the way Gingrich would have. They didn't "work together" as much as some of you on the right would like to believe.

Phantom · 11-14-2006, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by Vietvet

I think you've got it wrong. It's more like Clinton outsmarting Gingrich at every turn. Gingrich dared Clinton not to sign a far-right budget . Clinton let the government shut down for a few days. Clinton also knew that he had to comprimise on welfare reform, but he didn't "gut" all the programs the way Gingrich would have. They didn't "work together" as much as some of you on the right would like to believe.

are you Thogrim's AE?

Vietvet · 11-14-2006, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Phantom

are you Thogrim's AE?

No, I'm just a guy with opinions on issues. I form my opinions based on facts, not spin.