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The Real Rudy Hasn't Joined the Race Yet

America's Mayor is oddly absent on the campaign trail

By Heather McPherson,  Newser User

Posted Aug 14, 2007 2:45 PM CDT

(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."

That Rudy hasn't materialized in his own campaign appearances, where he is often tepid, unpolished, ill-prepared, and—oddly enough—appears to shrink from a good fight. He acts, Boyer notes, as if he's still on the cushy speaking tour he went on after he left office, where his only job was to show up and receive a hero's welcome. His 9/11 record remains his trump card, but he hasn't figured out how to play the rest of his political hand.

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, right, speaks with Bill O'Reilly before an interview on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor in New York, Monday Aug. 13, 2007.   (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, right, speaks with Bill O'Reilly before an interview on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" in New York, Monday Aug. 13, 2007. (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, middle, waves to the audience after appearing on a radio show with radio talk show host Sean Hannity, right, during the 2007 Sean Hannity Freedom Concert Tour at Kings Island amusement park Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007 in Mason, Ohio. Women at far left is unidentified....
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, middle, waves to the audience after appearing on a radio show with radio talk show host Sean Hannity, right, during the 2007 Sean Hannity Freedom Concert...   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani walks down the business district after a campaign stop at Coney's Downtown Cafe in Webster City, Iowa, on Monday, Aug. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Kevin Sanders)
Republican presidential hopeful and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani walks down the business district after a campaign stop at Coney's Downtown Cafe in Webster City, Iowa, on Monday, Aug. 6, 2007....   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks at the 2007 South Carolina Fire-Rescue Convention Friday, July 20, 2007, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks at the 2007 South Carolina Fire-Rescue Convention Friday, July 20, 2007, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, in Myrtle...   (Associated Press)
Cathy Delung of Florence, S.C. poses with Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani after he addressed  the 2007 South Carolina Fire-Rescue Convention Friday, July 20, 2007, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
Cathy Delung of Florence, S.C. poses with Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani after he addressed the 2007 South Carolina Fire-Rescue Convention Friday, July 20, 2007,...   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani takes time to talk with supporters after addressing the 2007 South Carolina Fire-Rescue Convention Friday, July 20, 2007, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)
Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani takes time to talk with supporters after addressing the 2007 South Carolina Fire-Rescue Convention Friday, July 20, 2007, at the...   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopefuls former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, embraces former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., walks by after the Republican debate at University of South Carolina's Koger Center for the Arts, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Republican presidential hopefuls former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, embraces former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., walks by after the Republican debate at University...   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopefuls Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are seen on the stage before the start of the Republican debate at University of South Carolina's Koger Center for the Arts, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Republican presidential hopefuls Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are seen on the stage before the start of the Republican debate at University of South Carolina's...   (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, right, interacts with Bill O'Reilly, as he prepares for an interview on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor in New York, Monday Aug. 13, 2007.   (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, right, interacts with Bill O'Reilly, as he prepares for an interview on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" in New York, Monday Aug. 13, 2007. (AP...   (Associated Press)
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