Rudy Giuliani - the Next Republican President?

It is hard to imagine Rudy Giuliani winning the Republican nominee for presidential candidate if only because of his lack of ability to stay on one side of the right-wing/left-wing spectrum. Standing on the far left concerning many significant political and social issues has not typically appealed to a majority of right-wingers in the past, although perhaps a politically conflicting president is exactly what the United States needs to compliment her other strange behaviors.

Rudy Giuliani, a strong candidate for the Republican presidential nominee, flaunts his opposition to Bush's ban on gay marriage and encourages pro-gay rights. He feels no regret about his pro-choice stance on abortion and goes so far as to rally behind the legalization of partial birth abortion, a procedure performed during the third trimester of a woman's pregnancy - one that many pro-choicers disagree with. He is pro-gun control, and in the past (although apparently his opinions have recently changed) he strongly defended illegal immigrants, campaigning to allow more immigrants into the United States.

So far, Giuliani doesn't sound like much of a Republican.

Taking a peek at him from the other side reveals a different story. Recently Giuliani accused Democrats of being "soft" on terrorists, claiming that they do not seem to understand the fact that terrorists want to harm the United States. In his opinion, Democrats are not fit to deal with the threat of terrorism because they would immediately go on the defense - what he considers to be one of the major downfalls with the country's position on September 11th.

Strongly on the offense Giuliani calls for an expansion of the "war on terror", turning it instead into a war of ideology, comparative to the Cold War. Not only focusing on Iraq, the government should also focus on Iran, Syria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and especially on capturing Osama bin Laden. He believes that Iraq will turn into a "massive headquarters for terrorism" if the United States fails in her mission, and he disagrees with Congress' recent decision to plan for a retreat from the currently devastated country, urging both President Bush and Congress to reach a negotiated agreement.

So Rudy Giuliani is pro-war on terror - how very Republican of him.

As if there is not enough confusion already, what remains can only create more questioning - will Giuliani change all of his political opinions during this campaign as he has on immigration? Perhaps his stance on immigration truly has altered from strongly defending the rights of immigrants and encouraging an increase in their acceptance into the country to denying illegal immigrants amnesty and sealing the border with the National Guard in place. Perhaps, following September 11th and the initiation of war, he truly has changed his opinion for the sake of national security.

Then there must also be an explanation for his statement regarding his pro-choice view on abortion: "I don't know that I'd do anything as president to try to preserve that."

The timing and choice of issues may seem awfully coincidental, yet how is one to know? Giuliani is considered a national hero due to his work in New York following September 11th, but could that status alone be enough to place him in direct line for the presidency of the United States? Even if he didn't seem wishy-washy with his policies, and even though he supports the war on terror, he will still inevitably struggle to win the Republican nomination due to his liberal views on most social issues. Stretching across both sides of the spectrum, winning any nomination would seem surprising in the bipartisan society of today.