His broad appeal to voters is undeniable: genial, quick-witted, steadfast under pressure, and a skilled orator, Rudy Giuliani has been schmoozing as a politician in form or another for many years already. In the ever important swing state of Colorado he leaped ahead of Fred Thompson and John McCain with a 15% lead, as indicated by a 07-17-07 American Research Group poll posted on the USA Election Polls website.
Yet while being a republican, his appeal to the democratic base is undeniable: he is pro choice and does not hide this fact; gay advocacy groups have given him the green light since, unlike many of his more conservative counterparts, he is in favor of civil unions and an equality under the law that rivals that of marriage, without actually calling it that. Even though this sounds more like a liberal platform than a conservative battle cry, he is also in favor of tax cuts, a reform of the tax code, and school choice, thus rallying much of the republican base behind him.
Democrats hate to love him because depending on whom they will give the nod for the party's nomination Giuliani has a good shot at upstaging the democratic candidate every step of the way. The only way that a democratic candidate could stay ahead of Rudy Giuliani not only in the polls but also in the voters' minds and at the ballot box is to come down further to the left than even Rudy would dare to go in fear of alienating his conservative base – yet a move to the left by any democratic candidate will destroy any chance of gaining the support of the moderate republicans, thus all but guaranteeing a loss in the all important swing states. What is a democrat to do?
> View the online archive of the latest 2008 presidential polls.
