Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The answer is "YES," by Neptune's Trident "YES!"

As you may recall - he was my #1 pick last time. I think I said something about this nation needing a leader who will make tough choices and had executive experience ... maybe I was on to something .... from Politico,
... Rudy Giuliani just told me at City Hall at his portrait unveiling that "the door's not closed" on the possibility of him running for president again in 2012.

He said he won't think about anything until after the November midterm elections, and that he gets encouraged by people as he travels.

I asked, "So the door's not closed?" and he replied, "The door's not closed."
Giuliani-Pawlenty 2012; the unspellable ticket for unbearable times.

41 comments:

Salty Gator said...

Good uggaly muggaly.  Not only will Guiliani NOT have my vote, neither will Fred Thompson.  I'm tired of these perennial candidates waging half-ass campaigns.  Even if I agree with them, you gotta actually fight and campaign like you WANT to win.

Ask the democrats about "DRAFT WES."  Never again.  

Skippy-san said...

Better them than Palin and anybody.  But Giuliani will labor under the same handicap McCain did-he won't be ideologically pure enough for the zealots in the party.

Wharf Rat said...

Sal:

Before we write the 2012 Republican ticket, We have a GREAT US House Candidate candidate in Minnesota's 8th District:  US Navy veteran (Helo's) Chip Cravaack.  Academy Graduate, NWA pilot flying B-747, DC-10's, etc.

http://chipcravaack.com/about/

The incumbent is Rep. Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation committee.  If you know about the 'Brown Bailout', he's held up the FAA reauthorization bill in order to change the rules for FedEx, my company and led by Marine aviator Chairmen Fred Smith (who flew off of ex-USS Oriskany).  The rule change is trying to make it easier to unionize at FedEx.  Rep. Oberstar in the last reporting period raised $232k from outside the district, and just one $500 contribution from within the district.  That's right - just one contribution.  This guy lives in Virginia, been elected to 18 terms, and rarely makes it back to MN for anything.

Anyway - Chip is an outstanding candidate!!

Anonymous said...

Ugh.  Giuliani is an authoritarian whose live-and-let-live views on social issues fools people into thinking he's a libertarian.  He's more Nixon than Reagan.  No thanks.

ewok40k said...

And what if Palin secedes and runs independently as Tea Party candidate? we could have another 4 years of Obama (shudder) if she takes enough Republican votes with her...
And can someone tell me who is Pawlenty - his name rings like someone from my neck of woods...

poprocks said...

Fred Thompson was my guy last time. In many ways Thompson ran an impressive campaign for a guy who didn't ever leave his couch.

As for Giuliani ... he's just teasing to keep his name in the mix and his speaking fees high. I love Rudy, but he doesn't have the stomach for the fight. What he does have the stomach for is the lecture circuit and you command a higher price as a potential future President than as a retired Mayor.

Anonymous said...

Rudy has some good points, but a bit too lefty on many issues for me.

I will not settle for another "lesser of two evils" SOB who thinks it is his right to get the nomination.

I want a fire-breathing conservative who will slash government programs, cut spending, build defense and kick butts of anyone who gets in the way.  No compromises, no prisoners, no more big government.

So far, Sarah Palin comes closest to that description, but I fear that the media has successfully defined her unfavorably so that she may be unelectable.

Still looking.

Mid Mom said...

Pawlenty is gov. of MN.

Matt Hawks said...

I hate to say it, but "build defense" can contradict with "cut spending."  Don't get me wrong, we need to be able to wield decisive force and maintain an overwhleming deterrent, but DoD retirement and/or medical benefits form a large target.  With the civilian-military pay gap greatly reduced from what it was 20 years ago (by everyone's reckoning), I wouldn't be surprised if the 2012 GOP candidate considered a restructuring of military benefits as part of an austerity plan.

But I agree with the main premise - Rudy is much more center than right.  How about a Barbour-Palin ticket?

Matt Hawks said...

I hate to say it, but "build defense" can contradict with "cut spending."  Don't get me wrong, we need to be able to wield decisive force and maintain an overwhleming deterrent, but DoD retirement and/or medical benefits form a large target.  With the civilian-military pay gap greatly reduced from what it was 20 years ago (by everyone's reckoning), I wouldn't be surprised if the 2012 GOP candidate considered a restructuring of military benefits as part of an austerity plan.

But I agree with the main premise - Rudy is much more center than right.  How about a Barbour-Palin ticket?

Jay said...

I predict Pres Obama easily wijns a second term, no matter who is on the Republican ticket. He'll have a Reepublican House soon, i think, which is fine, as long as the Senate stays Dem, so it can tamp down on some of the more looney House bills.

Grandpa Bluewater said...

Given a decent campaign manager and strategy Rudi should have had the nom last time out.
Rudi didn't go get either. Conclusion: Great guy in the clutch, can't plan or hire worth beans.
Thumbs down. Rudi.  Dropped balls have consequences.

Aubrey said...

Give me any of:
Chris Christie
Mitch Daniels
Paul Ryan
Alan West (hell, I'd move to Florida to help work his campaign!)

I'm looking for someone as candidate who will focus on economic and practical issues, and will not get mired down in all the social claptrap.

Aubrey said...

I see alot of the current energy burning itself out over the next year or so...my prediction is a pragmatic Rep. candidate with a solid resume of unassuming achievement. Probably not a winner against Obama, but would help hold the gains from this election.

What should be interesting is if Hillary challenges Obama - that primary would be a bloodletting on both sides.

ewok40k said...

Checked his bio, I like this guy - and not only because he's of Polish origins!
quote from Wiki:
Pawlenty's first term coincided with the deployment of National Guardsmen from numerous states, connected with the War on Terror and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pawlenty made trips to Bosnia (2003), Kosovo (2004) and (2008), Poland, Iraq and the Czech Republic visiting Minnesota troops.

Skippy-san said...

I think you are wrong about that. Primarily because he has lost control of the communications battle-which, thanks to the Fox noise jammer-means that his message is increasingly unheard. Unitl he finds some successul countermeasures, the range gate will continue to be pulled off the target.

Losing Congress might be a help-since it will give him a real enemy to focus on-but these are not normal times. For one thing the level of down right hatred is the most I have ever seen in my lifetime. I don't think Nixon was even hated as much as Obama is by those who agree with him. Its not just a difference of opinon, it is down right loathing and deep, violent hatred. That's not going away just because the elections go their way. If anything we will see the nonsense of the 2008 campaign magnified by 100.

Plus, there are already people in his own party who are urging him to emulate the example of the Tea Party. There are people in the Democratic party who are saying they are losing because they were not liberal enough. Yea, like that is a winning forumla for success.

I'd also offer one final complication. There could easily be a third party on either side of the aisle. Say Bloomberg got in. It would drain as many Democratic votes as Republican ones-if not more so.

The adminstration is going to have to go to school and think the lessons of this year through very, very carefully.

Skippy-san said...

I don't see the energy burning out. They are going to demand payback when their chosen disciples get into office. Plus, the social issues are still there-they may be down playing them, but ask your self this: "Could a gay conservative get a Tea Party endorsement?" Not a chance.

Skippy-san said...

Typed to fast. Correct the sentence to say "those who DON'T agree with him".

Kristen said...

"In many ways Thompson ran an impressive campaign for a guy who didn't ever leave his couch."

I supported him too, and boy is your observation painfully true.  No fire in the belly at all.

I agree with your second comment too.  He could have done us all a favor and run a serious campaign for one of the senate seats in New York.  He was a lot more electable to that office than he is to the presidency.  I appreciate the job that he did as mayor, and all the campaigning that he does for Republicans around the country.  But he wouldn't be in my top ten for the next president. 

Kristen said...

Aubrey, Chris Christie is a rock star!  I'd LOVE to see him on the campaign trail.  I like your other suggestions too.  We have a good bench around the country.  It'll be really interesting to see who steps up and goes for it.

Kristen said...

I'm so excited to see what our freshman class in the House and Senate will look like!  I've read about Chip Cravaack.  He'd make a great upgrade in that seat.

Grandpa Bluewater said...

Alan West with the Gov of NJ for VP.  Now we got to find a campaign manager. A hired gun with a pepsodent smile, a cool head, a black heart and 100 year old eyes. Any suggestions

Wharf Rat said...

me 8-)

Wharf Rat said...

Fox Noise Jammer?  Like URR said the other night, 'that makes me laugh!'  Outstanding description - I like to laugh! :-D

So Skippy, what do you call CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC (ooh sorry, they don't have any viewers, I guess they don't count), CNN (oops, again, viewership is down - must now count either), do I need to go on to pretty much all the major newspapers? (mostly liberal)

All of them pretty much ain't jumping up and down for a Republican congress. 

My mood is good - must be that can of whoopa$$ being opened up on Tuesday.

Wharf Rat said...

Tim Pawlenty is my Govenor.  He was described on Powerline that he is percieved as a moderate, but governed as a concervative.  That's exactly right.

And he's a big supporter of the future USS Minnesota SSN 783 :-D

Wharf Rat said...

HUGE UPGRADE!

I'm the VEEP of the Twin Cities Council of your United States Navy League, and one of my board members is a volunteer for Chip Cravaack.  Also, in our quarterly succtlebut, we ran a bio of Chip and his campaign bought advertising in it.  (we did not endorse Chip, as we cannot do this but as Chip is a Navy League member, it's perfectly fair to run a bio of him)

By the way - for $50/year, everyone on this blog should - or lets say I approve of this message: :) - join the Navy League.  Great organization and the monthly magazine has great Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard information.))

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Problem is, Skippy, the media broadcasts little BUT his message.  So people sure enough hear it.  They just don't like it. 


If you are asking someone to eat a sh*t sandwich, a good salesman can only get them to take the first bite.  Which was Election Day 2008.

Skippy-san said...

John Stewart summed up Fox well:  What Fox News is great at is – it’s almost like if you watch a weather map of how a hurricane starts and how it has to – and it builds and the whole, and there are cyclonic, you know, the guys in the morning go, you know, what happens is that night Hannity will be like, is Barack Obama a socialist who is indoctrinating your children? And then in the morning they will come on and go, some people are concerned about socialism in the White House. They feed each other, and what happens is there is no cold water, so the storm just builds and builds and builds.

None of the other networks even approach that level of one message all the time.

It would probably help too if the American people were, as a whole better educated-but they just aren't any more. We get the government we deserve.

As for next Tuesday-I'm just going to start drinking Friday and not stop till Wednesday morning-but I will stagger to the polls on Tuesday and vote against the Tea Party. :)

Skippy-san said...

Newspapers-the WSJ has the largest circulation in the country. That is hardly a liberal paper. It used to be a good paper-then Darth Murdoch got his hands on it.

cdrsalamander said...

Jon Stewart is a comedian ... you know that, right?

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Well, whatever Jon Stewart says! 

Problem is, Obama isn't socialist.  He is a communist, like Holder, and Sotomayor, and Arne Duncan, and Bill Ayers, and Bernadine Dorhn, and Van Jones, and Rahm Emanuel, and.....

Skippy-san said...

So what. (And yes I spelled his name wrong-sue me). His observation is still correct.  You should have listened to his interview on NPR last week(which is where that quote coems from). where he dissected Fox news with considerable accuracy.

Skippy-san said...

So what is the thrust here? That anyone who holds a differrent point of view is a communist?  The words are so over used in the wacky world of Tea Bag that they would not know a real communist if it walked up and bit them up the ass. Your last line shows exactly what is wrong with politics in Amerca today.

Life in the Hobbesian hell you guys want for us is going to be so much fun. :'(

C-dore 14 said...

Skippy, You should live here in Washington State.  I've already voted and won't need to stop drinking on Tuesday.

Now...if only I could find a way to program my voice mail to let the robo-callers know I've already mailed in my ballot so that they'd quit calling.

Aubrey said...

On the news front - I actually think the Brits have it closer to right, at least as far as their print news goes.  Let the various outlets identify with which side they are sympathetic and in alignment, and hammer away.  No false pretenses of neutrality or unbiased news, you KNOW where the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, etc... stand.  The fall down in the TV arena, but no one is perfect.

I would not mind if Fox admitted to a conservative bias, as long as MSNPR, CNN, CBS, and all the others admitted to which side THEY supported.

Oh, and before someone accuses me of just wanted to identify the outlets with which I agree so I can stick my head in the sand - I am slightly to the right of Attila the Hun on the political spectrum, yet I read the Guardian every day and watch Rachel Maddow most nights (I might disagree with her on every single thing, but unlike Olbermann she manages to at least be entertaining). 

Skippy-san said...

MSNBC pretty much admits where they stand. The other networks, I submit don't see themselves as being as biased as Fox is. From Stewart again: The idea that MSNBC is in any way the type of well-oiled machine that Fox is, is an absolute - it's a nonstarter.

Grandpa Bluewater said...

Please forward picture of smile highlighting dentition and eyes.  Letter of certification of blackheartedness by recognized authorities required.

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

Photo enclosed for eye and smile qualification.

http://safariclubusa.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/upclosewithashark.31485017.jpg

Grandpa Bluewater said...

Now we need a full figure photo, blue vanilla interview suit, white button down shirt, sincere red tie, black knee sox and wing tips. Horn rim glasses optional.

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

Best I could do, man.

http://www.toonopedia.com/mistrjaw.htm

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