Is America Ready for "Rudy Rage"?

America's Mayor is oddly absent on the campaign trail

(NEWSER) - Rudy Giuliani holds a nice lead in the pack of GOP presidential candidates, but it's not a result of anything he's doing on the campaign trail, Peter Boyer reports in a profile in the New Yorker. The Rudy who's winning in the polls is America's Mayor, the guy who cleaned up New York and carried the ball after 9/11, the feisty father-figure for whom, as George Will described it, "pugnacity is a political philosophy." More»

TNR questions both hizzoners' credentials

(NEWSER) - Deeming New York City "several light years away from the heart of America," New Republic writer Michelle Cottle assaults the qualifications of Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg to be president. Cottle calls Rudy's leadership style the "pugilistic, divisive, f-you approach" and Mike "the perfect presidential candidate to win the Vanity Fair primary." More»

So what if he was out of control as mayor? Only New Yorkers know that

(NEWSER) - Most Americans don't know Rudy Giuliani the way New Yorkers do: as an outlandish, manic, mean, and sometimes inspired mayor who ran the city in a style "much closer to that of a banana-republic potentate than to your average city administrator's," writes Michael Wolff. What Wolff wants to consider is whether Rudy is actually clinically crazy. More»

Many pundits ruled out Obama victory early

(NEWSER) - With the election over, what's more fun than calling out all those whose predictions were off—way off. Der Spiegel lists some highlights:

• "He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win." Hillary Clinton, on Barack Obama
• "We'll win Florida." Rudy Giuliani
• "Virginians are really getting fired up for this ticket of McCain and Palin." George Allen
• "Romney for the Republicans, Hillary for the Democrats." Ann Coulter, on the nominees

Negative campaigning is more memorable and brings out voters

(NEWSER) - Except for a few barbs here and there, the 2008 campaign has been as polite as a tea party, and that's not a good thing, reports Reuters. Though many assume negative campaigning turns off voters, it's the negative details that stick and actually spur voters to cast a ballot, researchers say. "Democracy itself requires negativity," says one professor. "We want the right to be critical of those in power." More»