Pat Robertson Endorses Giuliani
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, a prominent Christian leader and social conservative, endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination for president.
"It is my pleasure to announce my support for America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," Robertson said during a news conference with Giuliani in Washington.
The former New York mayor backs abortion rights and gay rights, positions that put him in conflict with GOP orthodoxy, and has been trying to convince cultural conservatives to overlook their differences with him on those issues. That makes the support of a high-profile religious conservative like Robertson a particular boon.
Robertson made no mention of the differences on social conservative issues in the statement.
CBS News senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield said that this move makes sense when looked in the context of how Giuliani has been actively courting conservatives over the past few years and also some of Robertson's history.
"Robertson has long been a political player at least as much as a religious leader," Greenfield said. "He's often backed more "electable" Republicans, against the more "pure" social conservatives." (, CBSNews.com's campaign blog.)
Giuliani is best known to voters for leading New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after 9/11, Robertson released a statement in which he said the attacks occurred because Americans had insulted God and lost the protection of heaven by allowing abortion and "rampant Internet pornography."
"Rudy Giuliani took a city that was in decline and considered ungovernable and reduced its violent crime, revitalized its core, dramatically lowered its taxes, cut through a welter of bureaucratic regulations, and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship which is so urgently needed in Washington today," Robertson said.
In an interview with CBS News after the announcement, Robertson said he expect Giuliani to win the nomination quickly.
"I hope he does well in the caucuses and the primaries. I think it will all be over by February so we've only got a couple more months," Robertson said. "I'm wishing him very well in making victory next fall as the nominee of the party." (listen to the interview here)
CBS News senior political editor Vaughn Ververs said Robertson's endorsement should provide a boost for Giuliani's campaign.
"Conservatives suspicious of Giuliani's positions on issues like abortion and gun control may give the former mayor another look as a result of Robertson's support," Ververs said. "Many other conservative leaders have endorsed other candidates and, as long as they do not coalesce among one single candidate, that's good news for Giuliani."
Evangelicals have split in their support for the leading Republican candidates. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a favorite of Christian conservatives who dropped out of the race last month, endorsed fellow Sen. John McCain of Arizona on Wednesday. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, recently announced that Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III were on board with his candidacy.
Asked about the Robertson endorsement, McCain, at a news conference with Brownback in Dubuque, Iowa, said: "Every once in a while, I'm left speechless. This is one of those times."
When asked about the endorsement during a campaign stop in South Carolina, Romney emphasized the support he had gotten from Jones and Weyrich.
"Everybody has their own choice," Romney said. "I'll tell you the people who have the ultimate say are gonna be the voters. And I sure hope that I'm able to do well with them as I have in the early contacts I've had in the early states."
Robertson, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988, founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Christian Coalition and Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.
Also Wednesday, Giuliani said he asked two GOP friends in Congress, Rep. Peter King of New York and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, to introduce bills to keep states from giving licenses or similar identification to illegal immigrants.
The Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, was criticized after a televised debate last week when she hedged an answer on whether she supported New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's effort to grant licenses to illegal immigrants. Her aides say she generally supports the idea in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.