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Pat Hearts Rudy

I guess this deals with Giuliani’s social issues issue, but I dunno … pro-abortion, gay rights, three marriages, a messy divorce, etc., might be hard for a lot of primary voters to get past. “More than acceptable to people of faith.” WaPo’s The Fix:

Following Robertson’s formal announcement at the Press Club, the Fix had a chance to sit down with the reverend and Giuliani to further explore their relationship.

Robertson and Giuliani have crossed paths several times during the course of their careers but they were able to get to know one another better on a flight home from Israel in 2003.

While Robertson has been heavily courted by a number of presidential candidates — most notably Mitt Romney — in recent months, he decided to cast his lot with Giuliani in order to counter a movement among some evangelicals to support a third party candidate if the former New York City Mayor becomes the Republican nominee.

“I thought it was important for me to make it clear that Rudy Giuliani is more than acceptable to people of faith,” said Robertson. “Given the fractured nature of the process, I thought it was time to solidify around one candidate.”

He insisted that while some on the “fringe” of the social conservative movement may see Giuliani as an unacceptable nominee, the “core know better.”

Robertson said although he and Giuliani disagree on social issues, those disagreements “pale into insignificance” when measured against the import of the fight against global terrorism and radical Islam. “We need a man who sees clearly how to deal with that issue,” said Robertson.

For his part, Giuliani cited Robertson as simply the latest evidence that he shares large swaths of common ground with people of faith — emphasizing his work to rid Times Square of pornography and his promise to appoint strict constructionists to the federal bench if elected president.

“If they look at my record they are going to a lot more areas of agreement than disagreement,” asserted Giuliani, noting that some of his opponents — who he chose not to name — have their own weaknesses on issues important to social conservatives.

The endorsement will definitely slow Romney’s momentum with social conservatives. Romney had recently secured the backing of conservative stalwarts Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III — endorsements that seemed to strengthen his bid to become the electable conservative alternative to Giuliani. Romney had made no secret of his desire for Robertson’s endorsement and has to be disappointed this morning.

For my own part, abortion, gay rights, three marriages, etc., are not deal-killers, some of those issues less so than others. Here’s something Robertson and I agree on. There’s pressing, practical business at hand and electability and a gut sense about a candidate’s wartime leadership skills, ability to hold a line and deal with Congress are primary concerns. Robertson thinks that Giuliani. I think there’s several months to go and it’s still an open question, may still be well after whoever ultimately gets elected gets elected. Picking up in midstream, when significant portions of the electorate and body politic want it to be the end, that person may be dealing with much more complicated and problematic political situation than Bush has faced in his thus-far largely successful dealings with a hostile Congress.

Powerline: Stranger and stranger. If he gets past the primaries it helps rather than hurts.

Riehl: Yeah, but does Rudy endorse Robertson?  … The surprise could be that this hurts him with Independents more than he might think.

Podhoretz: Giuliani’s pseudo-coup will be a wash.

Captains Quarters wonders whether Robertson’s mouth, nuttiness factor become a drag on Rudy.  Hey, maybe Rudy wants Hugo wondering if this means he’s going to have him assassinated.  Did Robertson say that about Ahamdinejad, too?  Could be useful.  

Riehl makes the point that this is more about Robertson wanting to stay relevant. It will be interesting to see if this signals any kind of softening on the religious right or just a softening of someone the critics view as pretty soft already. Raises questions of what Robertson and others might want for their support, and what Giuliani’s willing to give them. Maybe giving America the Times Square treatment and keeping the legislators off the bench does it. Podhoretz, more Riehlist than Riehl on this question, cocks a cynical eye at a staged endorsement by the formerly significant Robertson, and doesn’t think it will fly. Instapundit starts to say more or less the same thing, but dismisses his own snark and appears to be checking the “helps” column. I suspect it probably does help, before and after the primaries.  It doesn’t seal any deals but probably gives him a boost he could use. 

Topics: pols

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:45 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2007

2 Responses to “Pat Hearts Rudy”

1. Purple Avenger Says:
   November 8th, 2007 at 12:26 am

   I’m wondering how the geniuses at the NYT will handle this?

   Six months worth of prognostication and ponderous punditry about the religious right just went up in smoke making several of their columnists look like blind men trying to describe an elephant.

2. saltydog Says:
   November 8th, 2007 at 2:40 am

   Robertson lost a lot of influence after his 9-11 statement. God’s punishment? Sounded like something out of the Middle Ages. Thankfully, enough Americans still have enough character to be thoroughly insulted by that kind of self-loathing.

   I was stunned by the endorsement, but I haven’t a clue whether it will hurt or help. It is still so early and so much can happen to put a sudden halt to a campaign.

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