That’s the scoop?from the New York Sun.
“Hundreds of donors turned out for a Midtown presidential fund-raiser for Mayor Giuliani last night in what he called “a good start”to his exploration of a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Officially, Mr. Giuliani’s camp said it was pleased with the showing for the former mayor’s first fund-raiser since he formed a presidential exploratory committee last month. The $2,100-a-head benefit was closed to the press, but supporters put the number of attendees at more than 400, which could yield more than $800,000 in seed money for Mr. Giuliani’s committee.
Mr. Giuliani spoke for about 20 minutes at the event, attendees said, touching on lessons that he had learned as mayor and saying the nation had to stay “on the offensive” fighting terrorists in Iraq and around the world.
Addressing reporters afterward, Mr. Giuliani had nothing but praise for one of his chief rivals for the Republican nomination, Senator McCain of Arizona, calling him “a fine man,” “a good friend,” and “a hero.”
But in a sign of the growing battle between the two men, Mr. McCain picked the day of Mr. Giuliani’s first fund-raiser to release a list of 57 prominent donors in the tristate region who have committed to his all-but-announced campaign, sending a signal to Mr. Giuliani on his home turf. The list includes Secretary of State Kissinger, the former chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, John Whitehead, and Edward Cox. Mr. Giuliani expressed little concern about Mr. McCain’s move last night.
” John McCain is doing the same thing I’m doing. He’s exploring running for president,” he said. “I can understand why people would support him, and we’ll have a large number of people who support us, and then we’ll figure out who has the better chance.”
Mr. Giuliani also lauded Governor Romney of Massachusetts, noting that he and Mr. McCain were “probably the two most prominent” Republican hopefuls. One man he omitted was his former New York colleague, Governor Pataki, who has traveled extensively across the country to explore a presidential bid but has barely registered in most polls. Mr. Giuliani will decide formally on a presidential run “sometime next year,” he said, and he plans to travel to key states in the coming months. His exploratory committee yesterday unveiled its Web site, joinrudy2008.com, which features a photo of the former mayor, hands clasped, next to an early campaign slogan, “Proven Leadership.”
Among the attendees of last night’s fund-raiser at the Marriott Marquis were several longtime supporters of Mr. Giuliani and members of his administration, including a former fire and police commissioner, Howard Safir. The co-founder of Home Depot, Kenneth Langone, hosted the event.”
The Rudy detractors who have been claiming that Rudy is getting too late of a start are being proven wrong every day.? And the only reason it has ever seemed that way is that McCain and Romney got ridiculously early starts on the rest of the field, albeit for different reasons.? Romney knew the number of times that a non-heir-apparent governor of a mid-sized state has won the GOP presidential nod in the last few decades.? As such, he realized that if he were going to have any chance at the nomination, he’d basically have to start running just as soon as he was seated as governor in the Bay State.? McCain, on the other hand, realized that if he were going to become the GOP crown prince who almost always wins the nomination, he would have to create a sense of?inevitability early and often.? Hence the sense that Rudy, Newt, Huckabee, and others were all getting a late start.? And while the actions of McCain and Romney did to some extent force the other candidates to begin moving earlier as they scooped up the talent and endorsements, the thing that guys like Rudy and Newt have going for them is that they’re already household names within the GOP.? This allowed them to wait until the ink was dry on the midterms before jumping in,?while most people are already writing Huckabee and Brownback off more than a year before the first votes are cast in Iowa.
Make no mistake; Rudy is running, and he will be nothing less than supremely formidable.
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December 20th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
I disagree with my colleague on a number of fronts.
First, I think the Giuliani people made a big mistake raising the profile of this fund-raiser. It only raises the expectations games and, frankly, coming up with less than $1 million for an event like this is not very impressive.
Second, I think it fails the laugh and smell tests to criticize McCain and Romney for the early organiztional efforts and at the same time claim that Giuliani is doing just fine. The organizational leads that McCain and Romney have over Giuliani when it comes to both senior staff and staff in early caucus and primary states is nothing to just ignore. Sure, Giuliani can potentially catch up. But it is not certain that he will, nor does it make any sense to discount the strength of McCain and Romney in these areas.
Giuliani and Gingrich are going to run unconventional campaigns. That may be just the ticket in 2008 under the political circumstances. But to minimize the work and accomplishments of McCain and Romney in crafting traditional campaigns is just not credible.
If you want to root for Rudy, fine. But for the credibility of this site, let’s give other candidates their due.
December 20th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
By the way, I am very big on Rudy Giuliani. A huge fan even though much more conservative than he is on most issues.
What I am not big on is the lack of objectivity many times in analyzing the 2008 GOP race around here.
You have to question the later start on fundraising and organization on the part of Giuliani and Gingrich. And ypu have to give credit to the early fundraising and organizing of McCain and Romney. Failing that I really fear that this site is going to deteriorate into a mere pro-Giuliani vehicle where everything he does gets praised and everything his opponents do gets criticized. And that is no way to run a site dedicated to the 2008 GOP_ presidential primary as a whole.
December 20th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
I certainly hope it didn’t sound like I was trashing the McCain or Romney strategies. That wasn’t my intention, and I agree that what both have done has been quite impressive. My only point was that a lot of people have been spending the last year saying that Rudy’s a non-starter because he’s getting a late start, while I think that a) it’s actually McCain and Romney who have started earlier than usual and b) while this strategy has succeeded in making it very, very hard for most of the other candidates to be taken seriously right now, there are some who for one reason or another can still jump in and be taken very seriously, like Newt and Rudy. So I agree that the McCain and Romney strategies have succeeded in many ways, inasmuch as they have basically strangled the hopes of, say, Brownback or Huckabee.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
800,000 is not bad. Remember Romney and McCain has raise more for their pacs but the limits to give was higher. I think you talking about 4000 Max I believe this year.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
It is interesting that people think that Huckabee is being strangled by not getting in the mix of
things so early. Look at Romney, he is being beaten and battered and his chances are actually falling
not improving. Don’t think for a second that he is outsmarting McCain and Rudy. Rudy can’t win the
south which means he can’t get the nomination. McCain has issues with the base and come time for elections to begin Huckabee can emerge as the conservative candidate that leads the pack. I say wait until the race begins before you count people out and after the first debate the race will be on for 2008.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I think Rudy is going to do far better in the south that people think. I remember when the Judge who was running agisnt Grham in 2002 went into the debate tied or in the lead, attack Grham for campigning with Rudy, and end up losing by 8 points.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Besides, Huckabee is going to be outspent by the Club of Growth attacking him so he is nto getting the nom.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
The max is 2100 per individual and 4200 for a couple. The Rudy people swear they got a lot of people to pledge who just could not make it due to the xmas holiday so the total haul may get to $1M.Either way it is a lot of money.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Thanks for the correct figures.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
It should also be pointed out that on the same day as this fundrasier, McCain released a statement of 57 donors in the NY area who have contributed heavily to his own campaign. This is an aggressive move that is designed to show that McCain’s organizational advantage over Guiliani *is* insurmountable. I wonder how many Arizonan donors Rudy has? (Of course, not that I think there are many big donors down there in general, but you get the idea).
December 20th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
This was a quick fundraiser to get the lights on. Money will not be an issue for Rudy. The South might be an issue but money certainly won’t be.
December 20th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
[...] Original post by DaveG and software by Elliott Back [...]
December 20th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
Failing that I really fear that this site is going to deteriorate into a mere pro-Giuliani vehicle where everything he does gets praised and everything his opponents do gets criticized. And that is no way to run a site dedicated to the 2008 GOP_ presidential primary as a whole.
That’s what I’ve really been concerned about myself, and I probably haven’t done my part, as some of the presidential candidates (including, obviously John McCain) are some of the most frustrating Republican politicians I can think of (at least Bill Frist is gone from the list, but there’s still several other candidates I really can’t stand). Maybe we need to get LJ on as a blogger–he can get the title of the grassroot blogosphere’s only pro-McCain blogger.
j/k
December 20th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
$800,000 is really fantastic! It’s far better than I would have predicted! With everyone moaning about how stupid it was of Giuliani to host a major fundraiser right before Christmas, I think he really proved them wrong. Proved me wrong in fact. In a post a few days ago, I predicted:
Looks like Rudy has no problem netting a clean million in just a night and a half. AND right before those “Holidays”! Looking pretty good to me.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
PS (I guess I was just helping Rudy “underpromise and overdeliver”
)
December 20th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Listen I have been one of the very pro-Rudy voices but it doesn’t mean I am anti-McCain. His organization is very impressive and he has endeared himself with his correct and courageous position on Iraq. I have no interest in seeing him trashed since he could well wind up as the only person between Hillary and the Oval office. Do I love his personality? No. Do I think he is too much a proponent of the nanny state? Yes. Do I think he ismore likely to raise taxes than Rudy? Yes. Would I vote for him in the general election ? In a flash.
December 20th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
I wonder if McCain underestimated just how much the average Republican resents him. How can you gain an air of inevitability when a large percentage of voters will not vote for you in the primary no matter what? He might be a lock for the nomination right now if he had been the point-man for judicial nominations and the constitutional option, supported the tax cuts, and kept his mouth shut on immigration.
December 20th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
His calculation was simple- I can get the nomination without doing those things and not imperil my chances in the general election. I don’t like it but it makes sense.
December 20th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Woodrow,
Maybe we need to get LJ on as a blogger–he can get the title of the grassroot blogosphere’s only pro-McCain blogger.
Haha. Well, I appreciate the thought and I have certainly contemplated joining the site, I certainly post here more than anyone else already. I think there are more than just me as pro-McCain bloggers out their, but they’re probably hiding or something…
December 20th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
I found this site a week or two ago and I’m very pro-McCain, so LJ is not alone. Sometimes I think you guys are too unabashedly for Rudy, but at the very least you do have a variety of good articles and comments to take a look at.
I wouldn’t keep checking this blog out if I didn’t find *something* here worthwhile….
December 21st, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Hopefully all of us would vote for Rudy or McCain over Hillary. A Rudy/McCain ticket is alright by me.