RUDY GIULIANI
Rudy Giuliani is the charismatic former mayor of New York City. He owes his national popularity to the events immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks, as the nation was hanging on his every word in anticipation of breaking information. His enduring attitude became symbolic for the city and nation, and earned him the informal title “America’s Mayor,” as well as a voice in the national political discussion. He was named Time’s “Person of the Year” in 2001.
Giuliani was born in Brooklyn in 1944. He came from a humble background, the son of working class Italian immigrants. After attending Manhattan College and New York University Law School, he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and quickly rose to become the head of the Narcotics Unit by age twenty-nine.
He then took a job in Washington DC as an Associate Deputy Attorney General, and was later appointed US Associate Attorney General in the Reagan Administration. Next Giuliani became US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he made a name for himself successfully fighting organized crime.
Elected mayor of New York City in 1993, Giuliani cut welfare rolls by more than half a million, and oversaw the reclaiming of Times Square from strip clubs. His promotion of jobs programs and aggressive tax-cuts revived a slumping New York economy, and is now a model for other urban revival plans.
Of course, Giuliani’s most visible moments as mayor were post-9/11. To the nation, Giuliani looked haggard and sleep-deprived as any rescue worker, while he coordinated the search and recovery efforts and an information hotline for missing loved ones. His efforts earned him a Presidential Medal of Honor, and even a knighthood bestowed by the Queen of England.
Giuliani is somewhat of a divisive figure in the Republican Party, especially for a frontrunner. He doesn’t follow the party line on many conservative social issues. He favors federal funding for abortions, civil unions for same-sex couples, and gun control. This makes many single-issue conservative voters nervous, because Republican frontrunners for the last seven presidential elections have specially courted this wing of the party. Giuliani insists that his conservative credentials are in good order by touting his platform of free-market, pro-business, and anti-tax ideals.
One problem Giuliani will face is that he polls far better nationally than he does in the key early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Every Republican nominee has won in two of these states, so Giuliani would have to gain a lot of ground after the early votes are in; however, it can be done.
A big positive that Giuliani has to offer the Republican Party is that he polls the best nationally against Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. With most conservatives unhappy with the current field of candidates, Giuliani might win the nomination by default, since no one else seems to be rousing substantial support.
MIKE HUCKABEE
Huckabee has been one of the surprise candidates for the Republicans. He had a strong showing in the November 28 debate in St. Petersburg, Florida, appealing to viewers with his honesty and memorable one-liners.
Early in the primary debates it seemed as though Huckabee did not stand much of a chance to gain the Republican nomination, but the ex-minister-turned-politician has had strong appeal with many Republican voters. His down-to-Earth speaking style and his corny jokes have brought to the surface the "chummy" yet "eloquent" aspects of his personality.
According to the Economist, "twice as many evangelical Protestants in Iowa backed Mr. Huckabee as backed Mr. Romney" in a recent poll, showing that the ever-important support of evangelicals has begun to lean towards Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas.
Huckabee has shown pride regarding his endorsement by television star Chuck Norris, joking that Norris is part of his plan to control the border. In an Economist/YouGov poll, Huckabee was ranked above all other candidates on the question of honesty, yet ranked among the bottom in leadership capabilities. However, the public's view of his leadership capabilities may have improved after his strong outing in St. Petersburg.
While he has shown a decent understanding of America's healthcare flaws, Huckabee's weaknesses include his positions on trade and taxes. On the issue of trade, Huckabee has emphasized the need to stop importing food from China; however, conservative columnists have pointed out that the U.S. "hardly imports any food from China," causing one to question where Huckabee got that idea in the first place. On the issue of taxes, Huckabee said he will abolish the federal income tax and replace it with a sales tax. To make his plan work, he proposed tracking every American's month-to-month income, which, as the Economist points out, "would require a bureaucracy nearly as intrusive as the one Hr. Huckabee hopes to abolish."
Recently some have questioned Huckabee's judgment when as governor of Arkansas he supported the release from prison of a convicted rapist who later murdered a woman. But Huckabee maintains correctly that he did not commute the man's sentence, nor did he have the authority to grant parole, and claims he pressured no one to do so.
As Huckabee's presence among the Republican candidates continues to grow ever stronger, odd discrepancies in Huckabee's proposals - such as those mentioned above - will likely come under heavy strutiny; meaning that if he hopes to win the Republican nomination, he will have to develop a more feasible stance on both foreign and domestic economic issues.
DUNCAN HUNTER
Duncan Hunter is a US Representative from California and has served in Congress since 1980. He is a Vietnam veteran who completed his law degree through support from the G.I. Bill.
Hunter believes strongly in securing the U.S./Mexico border, heavy spending within the defense industry (he uses the term "Arsenal of Democracy"), and promoting the purchase of American-made products, especially if that means not buying from China.
Hunter was largely responsible for passing legislation to build 59 miles of fencing in San Diego County along the California/Mexico border, and believes that children born in the US to parents who are illegal immigrants should not receive US citizenship. At the same time, Hunter claims to be a champion of the Hispanic community.
Hunter's voting record shows that he has supported stem-cell research only when embryonic stem cells are not involved. He has adamantly opposed same sex marriage. Also, he pushed for legislation that would make home-schooled students eligible for the same federal aid that is available to students who attend public schools.
He has supported the right to display monuments of the Ten Commandments outside of state courtrooms and to place Christian crosses upon federal monuments. Furthermore, he would consider a candidate's personal belief in God as a positive and necessary attribute when appointing Supreme Court justices. He has implied that justices would have to – at the very least – reconsider Roe vs. Wade.
Hunter has supported nearly all of the Bush Administration's proposed legislation, and his campaign is actively seeking support from the Christian right as their best hope for the Republican nomination.
Hunter plainly stands little chance of receiving the nomination. He trails Romney, Giuliani, and McCain by vast margins in every major poll.
ALAN KEYES
This is Keyes' third time running for president. He is a radio and TV host who holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, and who previously served in the Reagan Administration.
Keyes has raised only $21,218 for his campaign, and has not received enough support to be invited to any of the major Republican debates.
His stance on most issues remains unclear, or at least under-reported, but he seems to be running on a moral, Christian faith-based platform. "We're putting together a grassroots community of faith that will stand firm in defense of moral principles," is the lead quote on Keyes's campaign website.
Keyes is anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, anti-stem cell research, and is opposed to affirmative action quotas. He believes that America's domestic economic policy should focus on the family, and that building strong, male-female marriages is at the heart of good economics. Keyes has little to say about solving the nation's crime problems, yet has much to say about campaign finance reform, which seems appropriate given his lack of campaign funding.
Regarding Iraq, Keyes said that it was wrong to seek permission from the UN in the first place, but that all of the political and infrastructural repairs needed in Iraq should be placed on the shoulders of the UN. His statements imply that the UN should act as a clean-up squadron that would follow the US around to make repairs after the military has invaded without support from the UN in the first place.
Finally, Keyes has stated that the power of judicial review should not reside fully with America's court system, but that the executive branch should have an equal say in the legality of all issues. In other words, he believes the executive branch should usurp power from the Supreme Court and judicial system.
It would take more than a miracle for Keyes to end up in the White House, much less as the Republican nominee. His best hope is to cross his fingers and hope for the spontaneous combustion of every other person seeking the office of president.
JOHN McCAIN
When high school wrestling champ John Sidney McCain III entered the US Naval Academy, he was a discipline problem and generally a poor student, but his father and grandfather had been top US Navy admirals, so he stuck with it and wound up graduating fifth from the bottom of his class.
Commissioned as a Navy ensign, McCain began his pilot training in Pensacola Florida. There, according to his autobiography, McCain bought a Corvette and dated a local dancer named "Marie the Flame of Florida." He crashed one aircraft in Corpus Christi Bay, and later collided with power lines in Spain.
But the Vietnam War was the true forge of McCain's mettle. He barely survived a horrible explosion on a carrier deck, only to be shot down months later on his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam.
Already injured, McCain then endured almost six years of bone-breaking torture. The North Vietnamese, in a propaganda ploy, offered him freedom soon after capture when they discovered he was an admiral's son, but McCain steadfastly refused, saying all those taken prisoner before him should be released first.
Eventually McCain was freed when the US decided to leave Vietnam, and in 1987 he was elected to the US Senate as a Republican from Arizona. Now 72, McCain is running for President for the second time, and if elected in 2008 would be the oldest person ever to take that office.
Known for his hot temper, McCain is a conservative, but is also considered a maverick Republican, sometimes a RINO--Republican In Name Only. He's for the war in Iraq, disagreeing only with how conservatively it's been fought until the recent surge. He says he was opposed to all of George Bush's tax cuts for the upper class, but thinks the tax system is unfair because the wealthy pay most of the taxes. He's pro-death penalty and anti-gun control, yet opposed to abortion and torture.
McCain has voted to expand stem cell research, and wants to give every family a $5000 annual tax credit for buying health insurance. Until recently he advocated a generous "path to citizenship" for illegal aliens, but dwindling support for that notion has forced him to talk instead about securing the borders first.
McCain says he personally believes marriage is between one man and one woman, but wants to leave the issue up to local governments. “Courts must not overstep their authority and thwart the Constitutional right of the people to decide this question,” his website declares.
He wants to cut carbon emissions by 65% by the year 2050, but his campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express, runs on diesel, and McCain himself drives a gasoline-fueled Cadillac. Living on fast food and with his campaign down to its last few million, McCain might not be driving much farther past the last pump.
RON PAUL
Formerly a milkman back in Pennsylvania, Ron Paul is now a US Congressman from Texas who is also an ob-gyn and Libertarian kind of Republican. That makes him an interesting political animal with an uncommon combination of positions that appeal to many voters across party lines, though Paul is not yet considered a frontrunner.
Paul was the Libertarian candidate for President in 1988. He didn't get very far then, but for the 2008 race he's broken the all-time US record for fundraising in a single day, much of that based on a highly successful Internet campaign.
He wants the US out of Iraq, the UN and NATO. He supports gun rights, opposes abortion and the war on drugs. He wants to eliminate the Federal Reserve so that citizens can choose whether to use gold or paper money, and wants the federal government to stay out of marriage legislation.
Paul wants to repeal the Patriot Act, and protect the Internet from censorship. He's written several learned tomes about his economic and political theories, which John McCain has called "the kind of isolationism that led to World War II."
Intelligent, articulate and with a large contributor base and snowballing webmaster savvy, Ron Paul is making the other candidates nervous.
MITT ROMNEY
In a recent interview on Kansas City's National Public Radio station KCUR, Michael Dukakis, former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate, said he is disgusted by Mitt Romney, and called him "a fraud."
Willard Mitt Romney was governor of the same state after Dukakis, who claims that Romney was a miserable failure who never fulfilled promises and certainly is nothing like his deceased dad George, a renowned governor of Michigan who also ran for President.
Though he likes to avoid discussing it, Romney is a Mormon. He is married, has five sons, and other than having been a one-term governor, Romney's only political experience was losing a race for the US Senate to Ted Kennedy. He has also been the well-to-do CEO of his own private equity consulting firm, and ran the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Romney advocates a conservative Republican agenda, and says of his former pro-choice position, "I was wrong." He supports the Iraq war, "enhanced" interrogation techniques, and wants to increase military spending if elected. He's pro-death penalty, anti-gun control, and formerly in favor of same sex marriages in Massachusetts - but now, not anywhere, urging Congress to pass legislation that protects traditional marriage.
Like John Kerry in 2004, Romney has used his own considerable wealth to finance his 2008 Presidential campaign. He's polling strong in some of the early primary states, but faces significant competition from his nemesis Rudy G, and the increasingly popular Mike Huckabee.
TOM TANCREDO
Tom Tancredo is a U.S. Representative from Colorado, a life-long conservative who follows the party line on almost every issue. Tancredo is pro-gun, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, and anti-taxes. He believes in small government, doesn’t believe in global warming, and is most proud of his work to fight illegal immigration.
Tancredo began his career as a schoolteacher; later President Reagan appointed him Regional Representative for the Department of Education for Colorado. He served five years in the Colorado House of Representatives, and afterward as head of a Libertarian think tank called the Independence Institute.
He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, and has taken many positions on various subcommittees such as the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Proliferation. He is also a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Tancredo currently is polling at three percent in Iowa, which is the first primary of the 2008 election. He is last in fundraising, and has been polling in sixth place in most national polls.
In a recent appearance at a local Colorado high school, Tancredo equated his lack of popularity to his lack of funding. “I’m waiting for someone to drop $300 million on me,” said Tancredo. “Money is definitely an issue. If you don’t have a lot of money, you are probably not going to be the best known person.”
Money issues aside, Tancredo has an uphill battle ahead of him, especially while towing the Bush-Rove party line that has become unpopular recently. With the sentiment of the country against his ideals, very little support in the polls, and little name recognition outside of Colorado, Tancredo is a long shot for the Republican nomination.
FRED THOMPSON
Originally Freddie Thompson, the former two-term US Senator from Tennessee has also been a lawyer ( worked as minority counsel for the Senate's Watergate investigation), lobbyist for a British insurance company, a fill-in for Paul Harvey and infrequent ABC radio commentator, and most famously a movie and TV character actor.
Thompson was the last of the Republicans to declare his candidacy, which he did on the Tonight Show. He told Jay Leno he wasn't so much interested in being President, as having the power to do a few things only a President can do.
His campaign since has been equally leisurely. Thompson has held his own in the occasional debate, but obviously doesn't have much of that "fire in the belly" voters look for in a presidential candidate.
One of the reasons for that might be that keeping up with his lovely wife, 24 years his junior, is wearing big Freddie out. Like Democrat Dennis Kucinich's better half, she's probably the most attractive asset Thompson has to offer.
Thompson's platform is fairly laissez faire Republican right down the line. He's anti-abortion but doesn't want to punish women who have early ones; wants to stay in Iraq; wants the states to determine marriage rights; doesn't believe in federally-administered universal health care.
He wants to combat the "spread of obscenity" in the media, but apparently isn't especially concerned about the overwhelming volume of violence. He acknowledges global warming but points out it's not unique to earth - Mars and Jupiter are warming too, he says, like the rest of the solar system, so it's only natural.
Asked what he would do if he doesn't win the Presidency, Thompson has said, "Have to find another role, I guess."
Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College