Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

Before the Republican Party’s move to the extreme right I would often attempt to find primary candidates from each party to root for to win their party’s nomination. Unlike some partisans who hope that the other party picks the weakest candidate, I hope that each party picks the candidate who would make the best President, knowing that either party could win. This year I’m not thrilled with the choices from either major party, and it is especially difficult to find a Republican who would be tolerable. I would love it if I could believe the hype that Rudy Giuliani is a libertarian-leaning social liberal and problem solver who represents competent management. The more I see of him, the less I can see him that way.

I’ve already discussed the non-libertarian leanings of Giuliani, such as here and here. A Quinnipiac Poll released today raises further questions as to how good a mayor he really was. Giuliani might be called “America’s Mayor” but New Yorkers don’t seem to want him. New Yorkers believe that Michael Bloomberg is a better mayor than Giuliani by a 46% to 16% margin. When asked who would make a better President, New Yorkers choose Bloomberg 46% to 31%. With Bloomberg rumored to be considering a third party bid, there could be an interesting race should Giuliani win the GOP nomination. We may even see an all New York race if Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, a prospect which would get me to look very closely at Bloomberg despite the odds against a third party candidate.

In other bad news for Giuliani today, Bloomberg.com reports that Giuliani’s firm lobbies for Citgo, which is controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.