Early Running Of The Elephants: Rudi Awakening

Halle – lujah!

If “Hizzoner” was notably absent from this week’s Republican beauty contest in Memphis, it was not because he’s forsaken the South — or the conservative fundies.  This pic accompanies Howard Fineman’s latest.  The write up describes how Rudy Giuliani dropped in a few weeks ago at the annual convention of the Global Pastors Network in Florida.  According to Fineman:

He wowed them with his energy and his revival-style witness to his faith in Jesus. Ralph Reed, a godfather of religious conservatives, thinks Giuliani’s charisma may help him overcome his social-issues liberalism in the Bible belt. “He can take control of a room better than any politician I’ve seen,” said Reed. The key moment with the pastors was in the private holding room, where he spent quality time among their leaders.

“Revival-style witness to his faith in Jesus?”  Howard has got to stop smoking crack.

Yesterday morning’s Rudi piece in WAPO (via chron.com) restores some of the temperance:

What’s not known is how many of those mostly core Republican voters are aware that the once-annulled, once-divorced, thrice-married Giuliani favors abortion rights, gay rights and gun control. (Giuliani’s first marriage was annulled after 14 years when, he says, he discovered he was married to his second cousin.)

“Will the third marriage and the fact that his second wife called him an adulterer hurt him?” asked Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “It’s clear he has an image as a very strong leader — what’s not clear is if the Republican base knows about or cares about his views on social issues.”

Good data, though does Mr. Brown believe for a second no one is going to make a screaming issue out of this moral train wreck? ( …And what’s up with that cousin business?)

Typically, I’m almost religious about avoiding straight parody with a photographers work.  Given the ludicrous factor, however, I couldn’t keep my own nose out of it.

(image: Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP. Newsweek. March 13, 2006. msnbc.msn.com)