Rudy Giuliani was
always a long-shot for the Republican presidential
nomination, a brash New Yorker who backed gun control,
abortion and gay rights in a party dominated by
conservatives.
The only surprise
was that he lasted as long as he did as the national
front-runner.
The former New
York mayor exited the race Wednesday and endorsed longtime
friend John McCain, calling him an ''American hero'' and the
candidate most qualified to be the next commander in
chief.
Giuliani's
unconventional strategy of largely bypassing the early
voting states and focusing on more populous,
delegate-rich states produced just one delegate, a
bunch of sixth-place finishes and made him the odd man
out.
His best showing
was Florida, where he had staked his candidacy. He
finished a distant third.
It was a
remarkable defeat for the ex-mayor who entered the race more
than a year ago with an aura of invincibility, leading
national polls and earning a reputation for toughness
after his stewardship of New York as terrorists struck
on Sept. 11, 2001.
This election
year, America's economic woes replaced terrorism as a top
issue for voters, and with that change, much of the
rationale for Giuliani's candidacy disappeared. When
voting began earlier this month, Republicans and
independents flocked to his rivals, the conservative
McCain, businessman Mitt Romney and the ordained Baptist
minister Mike Huckabee.
On Tuesday, after
the Florida results, Giuliani delivered a valedictory
speech that was more farewell than fight-on.
''I'm proud that
we chose to stay positive and to run a campaign of ideas
in an era of personal attacks, negative ads and cynical
spin,'' Giuliani said as supporters with tight smiles
crowded behind him. ''You don't always win, but you
can always try to do it right, and you did.''
To run for
president, Giuliani put on hold a lucrative business in
consulting major corporations and foreign governments, and
he may well return to it.
Yet he may not be
the last New York mayor to try to win the White House
this year. Waiting in the wings is current Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, a billionaire who insists he is not a
candidate but who aides say is considering running as
an independent.
As a candidate,
the 63-year-old Giuliani was a collection of
contradictions, so much so that he liked to joke that even
he didn't always agree with himself.
Giuliani, who
voted for liberal George McGovern in 1972, became a
Republican mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city.
Campaigning for national office, he claimed to have
created the most conservative government in the most
liberal city in America.
After earning a
reputation as a tough-talking, even abusive executive,
Giuliani the presidential candidate was mostly mild-mannered
in debates, even as those around him got meaner.
He even surprised
his hometown when the lifetime New York Yankees fan
told New England and Red Sox Nation that he was rooting for
Boston in the World Series.
By necessity,
Giuliani's strategy meant playing down states that led off
the voting in early January to make his stand in
delegate-rich Florida. He wanted to use the
57-delegate win in that state to propel him to
victories in the 20-plus states that vote Feb. 5; he had the
edge in polls in big-prize states like California and
New York for months.
The risk was
irrelevancy -- and he found himself on the brink of it as
his rivals racked up wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and
elsewhere, and dominated media coverage for weeks.
Giuliani figured
that he'd have a strong shot to win the nomination if
different candidates won in the early states, making for a
fractured contest and no one candidate riding a wave
of momentum into Florida. That's exactly what
occurred; three candidates won in the first six states
to vote. Yet, Giuliani still couldn't prevail
His poll numbers
dropped and key endorsements went to McCain.
He started out
flush with cash but by January top aides were working
without pay.
He spent $2.5
million (euro1.69 million) in advertising in New Hampshire
before choosing not to compete in the state and pulling out
to concentrate on Florida. He spent about $3 million
(euro2.03 million) in television advertising in
Florida. As of Sept. 30, the latest financial report
available, he had raised $45 million (euro30.38 million),
including $5 million (euro3.38 million) for the general
election. He had spent $30 million (euro20.26 million)
and entered the final three months of the year with
$11.6 million (euro7.83 million) available for the
primary.
Giuliani first
gained prominence as a crime-busting federal prosecutor in
Manhattan taking down mob bosses, Wall Street executives,
and corrupt politicians.
Giuliani's record
as a crime-fighter helped propel his next career as a
politician, but it wasn't an immediate success. He lost the
first time he ran for mayor in 1989 before winning in
1993.
As mayor, he
fostered a take-charge image by rushing to fires and crime
scenes to brief the media, but some critics felt he was more
concerned about taking credit from others for what
became a historic decline in the city's crime rate
during his tenure.
And, while the
cleanup of New York in the 1990s helped the city take
advantage of the nation's economic boom, critics --
especially in minority communities -- complained that
Giuliani's tactics were too aggressive and trampled on
civil rights.
A bout with
prostate cancer and the very public breakup of his marriage
with second wife Donna Hanover -- she first learned he was
filing for divorce when he made the announcement at a
televised news conference -- forced Giuliani to
withdraw from a race for the U.S. Senate against
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000.
By the summer of
2001, public esteem for Giuliani was at a low ebb. On
the morning of Sept. 11, Giuliani did what he always did:
rushed to the scene.
In the minutes,
hours, and days that followed, he presented a calm,
determined presence -- urging people not to panic, but
reminding them of the grim toll of the terrorist
attacks. The image of a dusty, sweaty Giuliani walking
near ground zero, surrounded by firefighters and police,
was seared into the national memory.
In December 2001,
Time magazine named him ''person of the year'' and its
cover showed Giuliani standing atop a skyscraper in front of
the New York skyline with the label ''Rudy Giuliani _
tower of strength.''
In the years
after the attacks, that reputation helped launch a
successful consulting business, and got him a major piece of
a DC-based law firm with a long list of big corporate
clients.
While Giuliani
has long been known as efficient and tough-minded, he also
can be brusque, rude and occasionally harsh.
His past
associations in business and politics have come under
scrutiny. President George W. Bush, at Giuliani's
urging, nominated Bernard Kerik, the former New York
police commissioner and one-time close associate of
Giuliani to head the Homeland Security Department. Kerik
withdrew his nomination, and later pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor of accepting a gift from a company
suspected of ties to organized crime.
Giuliani's two
past marriages have also raised questions. He married
Regina Peruggi in 1968, then had the marriage annulled in
1982 on the grounds they were second cousins once
removed. His second wife, Hanover, was embittered by
their very public divorce, and Giuliani's son, Andrew,
has acknowledged that he is estranged from his father.
Giuliani's more
moderate views also were an issue with some conservative
voters. He favors abortion rights, but says he would appoint
justices ''very similar'' to Samuel Alito and John
Roberts, who have voted for abortion restrictions. He
also supports gay rights, though he opposes gay
marriage. And he backs gun control.
With no working
strategy in his presidential campaign, no primary
victories and dwindling resources, the mayor's third-place
finish in Florida spelled the end of his run. (Devlin
Barrett, AP)