Originally published in the Valley News on December 16, 2007
Rock Star, Question Mark
Giuliani Draws Crowds Wherever He Goes,
But He Brings Some Baggage
By Jim Kenyon — Valley News Staff Writer
The campaign aide zeroed in on James Carder the moment he ducked inside the doorway of the VFW bingo hall in Laconia, N.H., on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving.
"Right this way," the aide motioned.
Before he knew it, Carder, 61, was sitting with 20 other handpicked New Hampshire residents on the small stage set up for Rudy Giuliani's "town meeting." Carder didn't have the heart to tell the aide he was still unsure whether he would vote for Giuliani in next month's New Hampshire Republican Primary.
Not that it would have mattered.
The checked flannel shirt, red suspenders and "U.S. Navy veteran" baseball cap. The combination is a presidential candidate's dream campaign prop. The small-town, down-home Yankee look goes over big in the national media.
But stereotypes cut both ways in presidential election politics. And that is Rudolph W. Giuliani's conundrum.
Does he present himself as the hard-liner who vows to "keep America safe from Islamic terrorists" by continuing to support the war in Iraq and pushing for a larger military? Does he beat the drum of the Beltway outsider, promising to "restore fiscal discipline to Washington" by slashing social programs?
Or does he return to what made him the first Republican in a generation to get elected mayor of New York City? Should he stress to voters that he was the two-term mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city, one who supported abortion and gay rights and gun control? Does the former federal prosecutor bring up the days when, after becoming mayor, he advocated on behalf of illegal immigrants?
Ideally, Giuliani would prefer to play it both ways. To win the Republican nomination, he must appeal to the party's conservative base. But to triumph next November, he would almost certainly need help from moderate and independent voters.
"It's a bit of a tightrope that he's walking," said Dean Spiliotes, a political analyst and former Dartmouth professor. "But all of this stuff makes him more electable (in the general election). He can say, 'When it really matters, I'm on the right side of the issues.' "
Heading into the primaries, Giuliani, 63, is considered the national Republican frontrunner, although polls show his lead slipping in recent weeks. The message that his campaign has been hammering home is quite simple. "He's our best chance against the Democrats," said former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, who has campaigned in New Hampshire on Giuliani's behalf since October.
A few blocks from downtown Concord, three tour buses pulled in front of the Corner View Restaurant. Stepping off the first bus, Giuliani was greeted by moms, dads, kids, grandparents and a guy holding a Boston terrier. Many waved "Rudy" signs. The candidate stopped long enough to autograph posters and pose for snapshots.
A gaggle of 25 reporters, photographers and TV cameramen trailed Giuliani inside the small restaurant, where pot roast and stuffed peppers topped the list of daily specials. The candidate bounced from table to table, pumping the hands of dazed diners who found themselves surrounded by reporters while their chocolate sundaes melted under the TV lights.
"How many merit badges do you have?" Giuliani asked a boy in a Cub Scout uniform.
A restaurant employee handed the candidate a menu. Giuliani scribbled his signature across the cover. Photographers elbowed their way to the next table. An elderly man started to rise from his seat. "You don't have to get up," Giuliani said. "Stay where you are."
After completing his rounds of the restaurant, Giuliani settled into the corner seat that had been saved for him at the table with his entourage, which included Cellucci and several New Hampshire legislators. A campaign worker shooed away hovering TV crews and photographers. "America's Mayor," as his campaign literature calls him, could now focus on his cheeseburger.
More so than any other Republican candidate, an aura of celebrity follows Giuliani wherever he goes on the campaign trail. Rudy G. is a rock star in a tailored suit. Tall and lean, his round wire-rimmed glasses (when he wears them) give him a bookish look.
"One thing he has going for him is a celebrity status that creates an interest in him even in Democratic neighborhoods. ... Many seek not just to shake his hand but to get his autograph.
"In Italian-American neighborhoods, he is a folk hero, especially with older women, who often want to embrace, kiss and dance with him."