Rudy Giuliani appeared on Neil Cavuto’s show this afternoon and the subject shifted to fellow candidate Mike Huckabee:
Giuliani: Huckabee is a wonderful man.
Cavuto: A wonderful running mate?
Giuliani: I think, well, I’ll tell you about…I don’t know about running mate, but I sure like having him at the debates because he makes me laugh.
Cavuto: (Laughs)
Giuliani: He gets off really funny lines. And, he’s got a nice approach to life. You know, he’s a man that is a…he’s got a happy approach. And, he’s got an optimistic approach to life.
Cavuto: OK
Giuliani: And then, I…you know, I have great respect for him.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
There are things that I like about Huckabee, I just wish that he was not a fiscal-liberal.
There are things that I like about Rudy, I just wish that he were not a social-liberal.
The two do compliment each other and balance each other. However, I’d rather have both the top & the bottom of the ticket be both socially & fiscally conservative.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I’ve said from day one that Giuliani/Huckabee would never work. For one, they’re don’t seem to match up on anything (Rudy is conservative where Huck is moderate and vice versa). Plus, I think Giuliani doesn’t strike me as the type who would pick a former rivla just to gain votes. Look for him to look outside the presidential field for someone like Pawlenty, Perry, Barbour, or Palin.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Rudy will pour the love on Huckabee up until Iowa to help challenge Romney. If he rises too much though, he’ll be laying off the praise, I’m sure.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I’m telling you, no one has any idea who Rudy would choose as a running mate.
My feeling is that it will be someone that no one is expecting at all right now.
Or who knows, it could be someone who will be in the news in the next couple of days…
October 30th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
“I’ve said from day one that Giuliani/Huckabee would never work. For one, they’re don’t seem to match up on anything (Rudy is conservative where Huck is moderate and vice versa). ”
I agree. Huckabee would undo one of Rudy’s great selling points to conservatives — that he won’t continue the big government ways of Dubya. If Rudy wants to make a VP pick that appeals to so-cons (and, if he’s smart, he will), there are plenty of so-cons to choose from that aren’t radioactive to the fiscal conservative wing of the party.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Kavon (#4):
“My feeling is that it will be someone that no one is expecting at all right now”
I agree (I have a good guess though).
October 30th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
“there are plenty of so-cons to choose from that aren’t radioactive to the fiscal conservative wing of the party.”
…like that Governor that scrapped the “bridge to nowhere”
Okay…enough self pronotion for one night.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Kavon: “Or who knows, it could be someone who will be in the news in the next couple of days…”
Do you know something juicy? Do tell.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
As they say, “developing”.
I should be clear that I have no insider info, just personal opinions based on rumors. Things like that. Nothing concrete.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Bernie Kerick as Rudy’s V.P.!
October 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Kavon W. Nikrad Says:
I’m telling you, no one has any idea who Rudy would choose as a running mate.
Hope you’re paying attention, folks. Kavon talks, people should listen.
If Rudy were to win the nomination, he could go for lots of folks, likely with an emphasis on potential candidates with a defense/foreign policy background, given it’s his campaign’s point of emphasis. There is no short list at this point from a parlor game perspective (maybe Rudy has one, who knows), only a long list: Sen. McCain, Sec. Rice, Sec. Powell, Gen. Franks, Sen. Collins (popular Centrist GOP female with tenure on the Armed Services Cmte), and maybe an outside shot at Rep. Hunter or Gov. Gilmore. Or perhaps he’s going to emphasize executive capability and choose another sitting Governor, like Perry, Sanford, or Pawlenty. Maybe he wants a campaigner who’s proved his worth on the trail, so goes with another top tier Presidential candidate like Huck, Fred, or Mitt, pending how things go over the next few months. Maybe he’s worried about geography and demographics and goes with a female Southerner, like Sen. Hutchison. Or maybe he goes with Palin, just to placate her supporters on R ’4 08.
Heck, he could get nutty and pick a surrogate like Gov. Thompson or Rep. King (NY), a former associate like Bratton (hey, if he’s willing to go to bat for Kerik, why not), or a pro-war Dem like Lieberman. Sure it would be surprising, but not impossible: Rudy’s not exactly known for bowing to convention, after all…
October 30th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Rudy and Peter King are both New Yorkers and thus can’t be on the same ticket, at least without a relocation.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I was not aware the Veep and Pres couldn’t come from the same state. Interesting.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
For all you Rudy supporters, here’s the latest from your boy …
Responsibility for stopping illegal immigration belongs to the federal government and not to cities, states or businesses, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday.
That’s right, no accountability. Just give the job to the federal government. Simply amazing …
October 30th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Kavon,
That someone in the news in the next few days wouldn’t happen to be someone who has a book coming out in the next few days, would it?
October 30th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
“If Rudy were to win the nomination, he could go for lots of folks, likely with an emphasis on potential candidates with a defense/foreign policy background, given it’s his campaign’s point of emphasis.”
I would disagree. If I were Rudy, I’d be looking for somebody with more of a domestic policy background. Giuliani is percieved as Mr. National Security even though his mayoral job was more like a gubernatorial postion. That would cause me to lean more towards a Perry, Pawlenty, Barbour, or Tommy Thompson (I would say Palin, but I said I’m done with self promotion). Either way, I’m definitely watching for a Governor, not a Senator, to take the Veep slot.
Tommy Franks would be interesting but I just don’t se what he adds to the ticket as his strengths are the same as Rudy’s (Security) and he won’t be percieved as representing any one state (I’m not even sure I know where he’s from, I think Oklahoma but I’m not sure). I don;t think Rice would take the job.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Kavon,
You wouldn’t have in mind a certain someone with a moustache who has a book coming out soon, would you?
October 30th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Jim,
Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations will be released on November 6 and can be purchased from Amazon for $17.82. Interestingly, Amazon offers Bolton’s book bundled with Giuliani senior foreign policy advisor Norman Podhoretz’s new book World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism at a “Better Together” discount of $34.29 for the two.
I was pegging Bolton for State or NSA in a Giuliani administration. My ‘outside the box’ VP choice for Rudy remains David Petraeus, and as conditions improve in Iraq and fewer American soldiers are being killed, the general’s political potential will skyrocket. There would also be, for Petraeus, the added benefit of being able to respond directly as a running mate/war hero against MoveOn’s General Betray-us ad and Hillary’s “willful suspension of disbelief” comment.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Bolton would be a great endorsement, but definitely not a VP. Unfortunately, he’d neve get confirmed as Sec. of State, but National Security advisor would be great.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
I heard Patraeus was a Dem, was I misinformed on that?
October 30th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Palin,
I’m unsure of the general’s party affiliation, but two days ago on Meet the Press, Bill Safire predicted Petraeus would be Romney’s running mate if he were to win the Republican nomination.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
McCain may be Rudy’s running mate.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Jim,
No, it wasn’t Bolton I was thinking of.
If my suspicions/hunch/personal opinion (whatever you want to call it) is correct, this person will make news on Friday morning in Washington D.C.
Let see what happens…
October 30th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
McCain would help as far as being electable, but Rudy putting McCain on the ticket would be the equivalent of spitting in conservative faces. That’s too much for one ticket. Rudy is oing to need the support of the bloggers, the conservative media, the NROs/Rushes/Coulters/etc… and having the guy who’s been the bete-noire of conservatives the past 8 years won’t cut it.
John Bolton on the other hand…is a conservative icon. I think more conservatives would actually be more excited about Bolton as VP than Rudy as P. If I was Rudy and he was elected, I’d have a food taster because the thought of Bolton as President is enough to make many conservatives dance in the streets.
Plus, Bolton is connected to just about all the levers of conservative power. He has ties to the think tanks, the federalist society(he was right there in the heat of the Bork nomination), the media(friends with many of the important figures), etc… If he was on the ticket, it would do much to minimize conservative opposition and 3rd party talks.
Giuliani/Bolton
That’s the ticket
October 30th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Also, I’m not sure if this has gotten play, but Rudy is scheduled to speak the annual Federalist Society convention for about an hour.
As far as I know, he’s the only candidate scheduled, and I think Ted Olson and Steve Calabresi probably pulled a few strings.
Given that just about the entire conservative legal world will be there, that will be as plum an opportunity as anyone will have to make the sale and really help himself, at least on that score.
I think that speech could be as important as the NRA one and the FRC one and could help him tremendously. We’ll have to see what comes of it.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
“If my suspicions/hunch/personal opinion (whatever you want to call it) is correct, this person will make news on Friday morning in Washington D.C”.
Oh cool, Kavon is playing 20 questions. My first hunch is Brownback, but we’re all kind of expecting that, so he probalby isn’t it.
Washington D.C….that probably means either Senate or Cabinet. Unless someone like Rice is resigning (unlikely), sounds like Rudy may be picking up a Senate endorsement. Hmm…Liddy Dole is too obvious…still thinking.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:07 am
Here’s the thing…
Events are shaping up just like they did before the Perry endorsement-Rudy spending time in an early primary state, heading back to Washington D.C. for an early press conference on a Friday morning, and then jumping right back on the trail by heading back to an early primary state.
History is repeating itself this week. It could be that I am on to something, or that I am on something. Guess we will find out Friday (although I’m sure it will be leaked before that if it is a big endorsement.)
Mike Allen at Politico has speculated that Rudy will unveil a big NH endorsement. But who’s left in NH? No one that you would fly to D.C. to announce besides Sununu; and it’s definitely not Sununu.
So I am back to believing we are getting the old bait-and-switch like we did with Perry. Rudy was in Iowa, so everyone thought he would be getting an Iowa endorsement. This time Rudy is in NH, so everyone thinks it will be a NH guy.
My two-cents: Sam Brownback endorses Rudy in D.C. on Friday. I could be wrong. But I don’t think I’m out to lunch for the speculation.
Just remember who you heard it from first
October 31st, 2007 at 12:12 am
Brownback is a better fit for Rudy than Huckabee for Veep anyways.
They are actually a very good fit for each other. Brownback is way, way, more conservative on fiscal matters than he is given credit for.
So why would Rudy choose an So-Con that is so different than him ecomonically when he can choose an So-Con that is a strong fiscal conservative instead?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:29 am
You’ve got a point, Kavon. I also seem to recall that brief moment where we all thought that Giuliani’s “major endorsement to be announced in South Carolina” was Mark Sanford…turned out to be Tommy Thompson. That would make this the third bait-and-switch, and everyone’s expecting a Brownback endorsement anyway.
Not sure if he’s the BEST choice for Veep (there are better people I can think of, and I don’t mean just Palin either), but he’d be on the shortlist if Rudy wants to use his VP primarily to play to so-cons.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:32 am
Not that Brownback would be a bad Veep candidate…he would definitely be a solid choice.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:36 am
I floated the Giuliani/Petraeus idea weeks ago. I think it would be a tremendous ticket.
October 31st, 2007 at 4:22 am
It appears that Giuliani is confirming that Huckabee is not a threat by complimenting him. It’s sounds more like a dismissal than a compliment…Oh, he’s funny sometimes…Running mate, oh no….
If he was a rival, he would be more pointed, and there are several things to be pointed about.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:23 am
#30 Metro,
It’s an interesting idea, but I don’t think it flys for a number of reasons. The biggest one is that General Petraeus strength plays to one of Rudy’s perceived strengths. Petraeus would be a far more complimentary fit for a ticket headed by Mitt. Even there, there are a lot of unknowns about Petraeus. He could easily turn out to be another Colin Powell, who I would imagine would be alright with you but wouldn’t be for a lot of others.
#31 Shawnie,
I agree. Rudy’s personality is not one that passes out compliments to serious rivals.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:46 am
irish Right #14 – we all know you hate Rudy, but you really say some ignorant stuff sometimes. In this case you ignore the fact that the federal govt has done NOTHING to enforce the law, not with a border control or even going after employers. Rudy is saying to get the problem fixed at the federal level, and then states can enforce the laws.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:49 am
irish Right # 32 Here we go again…what are you on???
“I agree. Rudy’s personality is not one that passes out compliments to serious rivals.”
Lets see… McCain, Huckabee, Thompson…. his own policy is even to NOT bash fellow republicans and he did not do so until Romney started in with him.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:18 am
Metro, Giuliani/Petraeus? Don’t you realize how unpopular the war is? That ticket would be a sure loser. Huckabee is irritating me lately though. He recently said he hopes Giuliani changes his position on abortion. Governor Huckabee, that would make Rudy a “flip-flopper”, exactly the same thing you have piously attacked Mitt for the last several months. What an opportunist! Now Huckabee is criticizing the “far left” and “far right”. He is also talking about how poor he was as a child and talking about banning smoking in public places. If I wanted triangulation, class warfare, sob stories about childhood, and an aggressive pursuit of the tobacco industry, I would have been a Bill Clinton supporter during the 1990s instead of a Bush/Dole supporter, and I would have chosen to be a DLC New Democrat instead of a conservative Republican. I hope the Republican primary voters see through Huckabee.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:22 am
For that matter I don’t think Petraeus would be a winning pick for Mitt either. The country simply isn’t in a hawkish mood right now. They haven’t been ever since we didn’t find the WMDs. Picking any kind of military general would not be wise, for a Republican. My pick for Mitt would be a wholesome, moderately conservative Republican such as Elizabeth Dole or Tim Pawlenty. I know Pawlenty is unlikely because he is a McCain backer, but he would be a tremendous asset. I don’t think Jim DeMint would be good because we will take South Carolina anyway, and he doesn’t really attract any moderates or women.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:50 am
Brownback would be an absolute HR for Rudy. It would make me question if Brownback had consumed too much mercury, but from Rudy’s vantage point, a great move.
Kavon, when you say you wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an announcment Friday, you’re just referring to an endorsement, not some kind of formal VP arrangement, right?
October 31st, 2007 at 9:52 am
Clarence, I know. That’s the idea. Putting Petraeaus on the ticket forces the public to acknowledge we are WINNING. That’s why it’s brilliant. A man is worth a thousand words. Americans have no problem with the war, so long as they believe we’re WINNING.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:55 am
Fredo,
Right.
In the end, I think that Rudy’s Veep selection would surprise a lot of people. It’s probably someone that none of us are talking about.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:03 am
Metro, it will depend what the dynamics are in Iraq at the time of the convention next year. My gut tells me a military general is not a good pick though and we should run on domestic issues next year.