'œRudy Giuliani would seem to have all the credentials a candidate for president could want,' said Susan Page in USA Today. He's a major hero of 9/11, who calmly rallied a shaken nation after a disheartening attack on U.S. soil. As New York's twice-elected mayor, he dramatically cut crime, herded legions of homeless off the streets, and made the city livable again. Best of all, he's far ahead in the polls. Among Republicans, he's leading John McCain 34 percent to 22 percent, and his approval ratings are sky-high. But as Giuliani prepares to formally announce his candidacy, he faces one major obstacle: his views on hot-button social issues. When the word gets out that the man who stood tall in the rubble of the twin towers is also a thrice-married supporter of gay rights, gun control, and legal abortion, die-hard Republicans may find themselves less keen to make 'œAmerica's mayor' its president.
His opponents' negative TV ads will practically script themselves, said Michael Tomasky in The American Prospect Online. After Giuliani left his second wife, Donna Hanover, for his current wife, he briefly shared an apartment with a gay couple, Mark and Howard. Splice that with footage of Hanover publicly weeping the day she found out via press conference that her marriage was over, and Giuliani may as well kiss goodbye the votes of Southern Christians, 'œwhose verdict on GOP presidential candidates tends to be decisive.' For one day, Giuliani was exactly the hero New York needed, said Mike Lupica in the New York Daily News. But New Yorkers also remember him as the thin-skinned bully who spent eight years alienating minorities and raging against his critics. Right now America loves Giuliani for his heroism on Sept. 11. Their feelings may cool when they find out about 'œSept. 10.'
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