The New York Times wonders if Rudy Giuliani is too New York to win over the nation, saying the "swaggering, brash and opinionated" style that "won him some acclaim in New York" may not play as well in other parts of America.
When Republicans say they are skeptical that Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, can survive their party’s presidential nominating process, they usually point to his record of support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control. But there may be a less obvious hurdle that Mr. Giuliani has to overcome: Whether he is too much of a New Yorker for the rest of the country.
Americans like New York City, as officials in both parties are quick to say. Most find it vibrant, entertaining and an object of sympathy and pride since the terrorist attacks five and a half years ago that made Mr. Giuliani the national contender he is today. But the city, with all its tumult and rough edges, is not for everyone. And few people embody all the complicated facets of New York City as much as Mr. Giuliani.
Giuliani is leading Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (as well as the rest of the announced and prospective GOP field) in the polls, but can he sustain it? Nelson Warfield, a conservative Republican consultant who worked for Ronald Lauder, Mr. Giuliani’s opponent for the Republican mayoral nomination in 1989, says "being from New York is a very challenging biographical detail for Giuliani" because, "in Rudy’s story, there is chapter after chapter of politics that is accepted as normal in New York, but that is very strange in the rest of the world."
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