Friday Look: The Anti-Giuliani

When the race for the Republican Presidential nomination began more than a year ago, Rudolph W. Giuliani entered as the front runner; not only for the nomination, but for the presidency. The hero of 9/11, he was leading in national polls and had an appeal that crossed party lines. He was in many ways the anti-McCain, the person that many Republican least wanted to see become President.

It was that appeal, however, that included pro-abortion, pro-gay, and anti-gun tendencies that left the Republican primary voter searching for a suitable conservative alternative; an anti-Giuliani. With the primaries set to begin in less than two weeks, that search which seems to have been settled is the subject of this week's Friday Look.

First came Mitt Romney, the one term Governor of Massachusetts. He had a magnetism about him that hadn't been seen, well, since Ronald Reagan. He quickly impressed pundit, operative, and voter alike and showed early on he was willing to spend millions of his own money to secure the nomination. And he was the early favorite to be the anti-Giuliani.

However, digging deeper into Romney's past revealed qualities that were strikingly similar to another Massachusetts politician who once ran for President. Romney, apparently, was a flip-flopper having once supported abortion and gun control. He once claimed he was more liberal than Ted Kennedy and said he was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. The only difference with Giuliani, it seemed, was that he had recanted on his previous positions.

Enter Fred Thompson. Since his fellow Tennessean decided to not make a run this time around, Thompson saw an opening in the field for an authentic Southern conservative. He had national name recognition from his career as an actor; but also the luxurious career and life of an actor. But he seemed best poised to become the anti-Giuliani; so at the behest of a groundswell of support he threw his hat in the ring.

However, despite his impressive announcement strategy, his campaign fell flat in its early months. He raised less money than we all thought he could and struggled assembling an effective national organization. He was never able to solidify his position as the anti-Giuliani, and now he finds himself nearly broke and having to resort to an earned media bus tour instead of paid media.

Then Sam Brownback dropped out of the race. Brownback, the purest social conservative in the race, had tried to position himself as the anti-Giuliani early by attacking and making distinctions with Romney. He struggled however to raise money, finding out the hard way that there is no money in being a social conservative.

However, Brownback's departure left an opening for the other pure social conservative, Mike Huckabee. Up to that point, the two had been vying for the same support that occasionally included skirmishes. Left with no one else, primary voters began to take a serious look at Huckabee and were pleasantly surprised by what they found: Their anti-Giuliani.

On almost every issue, their records or stances on the position are in direct contrast. Huckabee supports a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Giuliani does not. Huckabee supports the fundamental right to life, Giuliani wants to federally fund abortions. Huckabee talks like a Southern populist, Giuliani talks like a New York lawyer.

While Huckabee still faces the same financial problems Brownback did, he has been able to effectively ride earned media into national recognition. And when the dust settles on Feb. 5, the two candidates with the funny names will likely be the ones left standing.