McCain Vs. Giuliani: Tale Of The Tape

(CBS)  By CBSNews.com's Joel Roberts

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It's still 14 months before the Iowa caucuses, but already two heavyweight contenders have emerged in the 2008 Republican presidential battle: Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Recent polls by USA Today/Gallup and CNN put the pair far ahead of the Republican pack, with Giuliani holding a two-point lead over McCain. Polls also show the two men in a dead heat with the apparent Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.

Of course, there's a long, long way to go until the primaries and serious obstacles remain in both men's paths, chiefly their ability to appeal to the conservative wing of the GOP.

Also, there are plenty of other GOP wannabes out there, but none can match McCain and Giuliani when it comes to national name recognition, fundraising ability or star quality. And until one of those contenders emerges from the pack, it looks like a mano a mano between the "maverick" senator from Arizona and the New Yorker dubbed "America's mayor."

Here, then, a primer on the two early Republican frontrunners we'll no doubt be learning a lot more about in the months ahead:

John S. McCain III
Born: Aug. 29, 1936 in Panama Canal Zone, Panama

Rudolph W. "Rudy" Giuliani
Born: May 28, 1944, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Education:

McCain: Graduated U.S. Naval Academy, 1958.

Giuliani: Attended Manhattan College, graduated New York University Law School 1968.

Family:

McCain: Married to Cindy Lou Hensley. Has seven children and four grandchildren. First marriage to Carol Shepp ended in divorce.

Giuliani: Married to Judith Nathan. Has two children from a marriage to TV personality Donna Hanover, which ended in divorce, and one stepdaughter. First marriage was annulled.

Religion:

McCain: Episcopalian

Giuliani: Catholic

Political Experience:

McCain: U.S. senator, 1986-present; U.S. congressman, 1982-1986.

Giuliani: Mayor of New York City, 1994-2001; U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York, 1983-1989.

Past campaign stumbles:

McCain: Unsuccessful candidate for Republican presidential nomination in 2000, losing to George W. Bush after scoring early victory in New Hampshire primary.

Giuliani: Withdrew as candidate for U.S. Senate in 1998, against Democrat Hillary Clinton, after announcing he had prostate cancer and amid highly public divorce. Lost first mayoral bid in New York to incumbent David Dinkins in 1989 before defeating him four years later.

The Issues:

McCain: Conservative on social issues such as abortion and gun control; led bipartisan initiatives on campaign finance reform, immigration reform and lobbying reform; longtime crusader for ending pork-barrel spending; strong supporter of Iraq war who has called for sending more U.S. troops to help crush the insurgency.

Giuliani: Supports gun control, same-sex unions, abortion rights and comprehensive immigration reform; strong on crime and defense issues; supporter of President Bush on Iraq war.

Strengths

McCain: A "maverick" senator who's been willing to buck the party establishment; a war hero who spent five years as a POW during the Vietnam War; strong military and national security credentials; experience in the highest halls of power; national name recognition; proven fund-raising ability; spent past election season campaigning hard for GOP candidates around the country; a conservative with appeal to independents.

Giuliani: Led New York City revival in the 1990s, when crime was dramatically reduced; won international acclaim for handling of 2001 terrorist attack on World Trade Center, when he became widely known as "America's mayor"; untarnished by ties to defeated Republican Congress; has no voting record in Congress to defend; can run as a true Washington outsider; has potential appeal to independents and Democrats; spent past election season campaigning hard for GOP candidates around the country; national name recognition; gives GOP rare chance to win New York's 31 electoral votes.

Liabilities:

McCain: His age — he'll be 72 when the next president is sworn in; he alienated many evangelicals during the 2000 campaign, when he referred to Jerry Falwell and others as "agents of intolerance," though he has since backed off those remarks; was named in the late '80s in the Keating Five savings and loan scandal; reputed to have a short temper; though seen as a maverick, he's long been a part of the unpopular Congress; a longtime Washington insider.

Giuliani: Limited federal government experience; limited foreign policy experience; may be considered too liberal by GOP's conservative base; his health — prostate cancer forced him to pull out of 1998 Senate race, though he's made a full recovery; sometimes seen in mayoral years as short-tempered and egotistical; marital problems in past; he's a New Yorker.

The Bush Factor:

McCain: Ran against George W. Bush in 2000, then strongly supported him four years later; has frequently been a thorn in the president's side in the Senate, opposing Mr. Bush's 2001 tax cuts and successfully fighting for Geneva Convention rules in the detention of terrorist suspects this year.

Giuliani: Has been seen as a strong ally of the president.

Author credits:

McCain: "Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life," 2004; "Worth Fighting For, A Memoir," 2002; "Faith of My Fathers," 1999.

Giuliani: "Leadership," 2002.

Screen credits;

McCain: Cameo in "Wedding Crashers," 2005.

Giuliani: Cameo in "Anger Management," 2003.

Television credits:

McCain: Hosted "Saturday Night Live," 2002.

Giuliani: Hosted "Saturday Night Live," 1997.

Played Them In The TV Movie:

McCain: Actor Shawn Hatosy cast as young Navy pilot John McCain in 2005 film version of "Faith of My Fathers."

Giuliani: James Woods played the New York mayor in 2003 biopic, "Rudy: the Rudy Giuliani Story."

[bushrocks1]

Would I send my son to this war? You might ask would I send him to WW II? Or Vietnam? Maybe you would distinguish those conflicts and whether you would send your son to fight in them. But that question is misdirected in a very important way: I can't command my son to go to war. He has to make that choice. So the better question would be: would I volunteer to fight in Iraq, WW II, Vietnam? Would I volunteer to fight in any war? Respond if drafted? I don%u2019t know. I'm not equivocating, only addressing that it is a hypothetical. As a hypothetical, I can say, sure I'd fight. But I have nightmares of battle (from my past life as a Jacobite). So how do I feel toward those who do volunteer? Impressed but maturely knowing that many things go into their decision. But I do strongly believe that a country who can't find those men is doomed. The fact that we can find them is one reason why I say there is no failure in Iraq. Objectively, I also believe it for other reasons. An attempt to establish democracy in the Middle East is a bold, brilliant, noble effort, facing a high chance of failure. That's why I greatly respect and admire those who have made the attempt--the Bush administration. They have been resolute, something I have not seen in my lifetime. They may not succeed, for reasons outside their control or fault: traitors on the home front, being a big one. But now those traitors have apparently occupied the high ground. Yet... we're still in Iraq. Why?... I'm waiting.

[kwch]

We don't need old politicians stuck in their ways.
We need new blood.
We need someone someone who is not only intelligent but also sharp.
We need someone who can speak clearly to the American people.
We need someone who is convincing to foreign leaders, charismatic.

I'm not saying he was the greatest but we need a personality like a JFK to get us back our reputation in the world that Bush trashed.

We need John Edwards!

[tibu987]

If Giuliani and McCain are the best that the Republicans have to offer, the GOP will be in deep doo-doo come 2008. But, it is just as well, as we need the Democrats to pull us out of all the messes that the U.S. is in. In 2012 the Repubs may have another chance if they can come up with better candidates and a more intelligent and honest agenda.

Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.
Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil's Dictionary

Thanks Amb.
'Nuff said.

[librepubtxn]

Yep..I really AM a liberal Republican from Texas! Rarely seen or heard, we DO exist. Not always in favor of what 'W' says or does, we DO believe in FULL equality for ALL (race, religion, gender, sexual preference, etc) and NO preferential treatment for ANYONE (so-called Affirmative Action, minority/woman-owned contractors, etc.) nor giving ANY privileges to ILLEGAL immigrants, other than their right to be escorted to the porous border where they ILLEGALLY entered, along with a concentrated effort to seal the leak that let them in. I for one would not even extend to them the so-called "humanitarian" services we offer to CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants; e.g., tax-supported emergency medical care, food, shelter, etc. Private charities may do as they wish, but without these giveaways, maybe we wouldn't NEED a controversial fence, or troops stationed at the borders. I support the recent ordinance passed by Farmers Branch, TX, with one exception: the mealy-mouthed politicians specifically EXCLUDED the original provision that made it a crime to EMPLOY illegals. That's a shameful cop-out! Withdrawal of this incentive for illegal border crossing is OBVIOUSLY the logical, most effective point to attack our illegal immigration problem. McCain vs Giuliani: let it be an INFORMED personal choice by ALL registered Republicans! I lean toward McCain, and AWAY from ANYTHING connected to NYC or the old-line power machines in the Northeast, but I might switch, if either Colin or Condi ran.

[fascistusa]

Yay! I'm completely braindead. Talk Show Host Guilini seems like the best candidate next to Captain Crunch MCCain!

I don't think they'll EVER find anyone TRULY qualified.

Better pick one of these two dirtbags NOW!!

[mnbluestater]

I am an independent but usually vote Democratic. Guiliani would make a terrific President! Take the time to read his biography http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/html/bio.html
Anyone who could clean up NYC after the disastrous years of Lindsay, Koch, Dinkins (remember when NYC went BROKE?), get rid of drug dealers in the parks, clean up the porn and *** theatres in Times Square, get people off of welfare (there were 1 in 7 people on welfare when he first took office). As US District Attorney in the 1980's he took on the mafia-controlled garbage haulers, wholesale foods industry and fish market industry. On 9/11 he showed the nation his ethics and leadership and as for me, I think he's got balls of steel. He's a moderate when this country needs a moderate, not some conservative re-tread like McCain. I am voting for him, and the election is still two years

[mnbluestater]

I am an independent but usually vote Democratic. Guiliani would make a terrific President! Take the time to read his biography http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/rwg/html/bio.html
Anyone who could clean up NYC after the disastrous years of Lindsay, Koch, Dinkins (remember when NYC went BROKE?), get rid of drug dealers in the parks, clean up the porn and *** theatres in Times Square, get people off of welfare (there were 1 in 7 people on welfare when he first took office). As US District Attorney in the 1980's he took on the mafia-controlled garbage haulers, wholesale foods industry and fish market industry. On 9/11 he showed the nation his ethics and leadership and as for me, I think he's got balls of steel. He's a moderate when this country needs a moderate, not some conservative re-tread like McCain. I am voting for him, and the election is still two years away.

[im3000]

Giuliani represents everything that is wrong with America. He would still be a nobody without the tragedies of 2001. He uses, needs, and encourages terror on our people to further his power, like some other politicos we know. A vote for him is a vote for terror.

[fascistusa]

Wow. They are already selling us on our TWO Presidental 2008 Republinazi candidates.

Nope, we're not a FASCIST NATION with PURE PROPOGANDA for "NEWS".

[tibu987]

Here is my "skinny" on Presidential candidates.
In their megalomania they feel they are omnipotent and so in love with themselves are they, that they expect that people, the voting public, also feels that way about them. NOT.
What happens, is that many millions of dollars are spent by people hanging on to their coattails in hopes of hitting the big time.
But what really happens is that the voters (most), think that they are full of BS which is, of course, true.
The dangerous side of this is that sometimes they are actually get elected, i.e., Johnson, Reagan, Carter, Clinton, Ford, "W", and at a governatorial level, Schwartzenegger, Ventura, and many others too numerous to mention here.
As an old time pol with a lot of political experience said:

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970)

Nice quote Charlie, thanks.
'Nuff said.