GOP Sen. On Rudy: Conventional Wisdom Won

Political Players is a weekly conversation with the leaders, consultants, and activists who shape American politics. This week, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with Kit Bond, longtime GOP senator and Missouri powerbroker, about Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and next week's Super Tuesday vote in his home state.

Sen. Kit Bond: Well, Rudy was a great candidate. He was the best one to deal with the important challenges of our time. But Rudy challenged the conventional wisdom. And the conventional wisdom won.

CBSNews.com: Which of the many conventional wisdoms that Giuliani violated are you referring to?

Sen. Kit Bond: The conventional wisdom that you have to run in the early primaries. You can't wait until the seventh primary, even if you're running strong there. By the time you get there, the media coverage that you get is going to put you behind the eight ball.

CBSNews.com: Do you think a lack of momentum is what killed him? Or was it something about the kind of campaign he ran?

Sen. Kit Bond: Well, it was the coverage out of the campaign. It was not being in those early campaigns. It was not being in those early campaigns that put him behind - you could call that momentum. But he just wasn't in view. And that was the problem.

CBSNews.com: So are you going to follow your former candidate's advice and support John McCain as well?

Sen. Kit Bond: I told [Giuliani] that I've cast my lot, and a lot cast is a lot past. So I'm not going to try at this point to do anymore. There are a lot of people in Missouri that have lined up on other sides. And I'll review the choices and make mine later.

CBSNews.com: Are you going remain neutral until Super Tuesday?

Sen. Kit Bond: Yeah. And probably right through it, till we get a nominee.

CBSNews.com: You don't have any preference at this point between McCain or Romney or Huckabee?

Sen. Kit Bond: All fine men, and I will watch closely.

CBSNews.com: Fifty-eight Republican delegates are at stake in Missouri. The winner by one vote gets all of the delegates. What are the biggest issues there right now?

Sen. Kit Bond: Well, number one, Missouri has been a very important state in general elections. Over the last 120 years, 1956 was the only year we didn't pick a winner. And I hope that the nominees of both parties will visit us frequently in Missouri. And having a Super Tuesday primary has gotten us into play.

But I think there are a number of issues that divide the vision that I see between Republicans and Democrats in Washington. First, any of the Republicans, I think, understands the challenge of our time is terrorism. And being able to fight the radical Islamic terrorists, who continue to try to strike Americans here at home, our troops, and our allies around the world. And we're seeing this played out in Congress, which some of the candidates are running from.

The terrorist surveillance bill that we are trying to pass is an issue which apparently is going to divide the candidates, the Republican candidate, and the candidate of the Democratic Party. If we cannot listen in on terrorist conversations from known terrorists or suspected spies abroad, we cannot keep our country safe.

CBSNews.com: And do you think there's any difference between the two leading Democrats, Obama and Clinton, on the national security issue?

Sen. Kit Bond: I haven't seen it.

CBSNews.com: And does one seem more electable in Missouri to you? Your colleague, Senator McCaskill, believes it's Obama. Do you think she's right?

Sen. Kit Bond: I will leave that to the Democrats. I've never had much luck in telling the Democrats who to select. They always pick somebody strong. And I don't want to give them any hints.

CBSNews.com: In the Republican cloakroom, you and your colleagues must chat about this campaign. We hear all sorts of stories that, on the Democratic side, former friends aren't talking to each other because one's for Clinton, one's for Obama. Is there any division that's being created because a bunch of senators wind up on different sides between the primary contenders?

Sen. Kit Bond: There's been no nuclear war in the Republican cloakroom. I can't comment on their side, although there does appear to be some really tough feelings. My colleagues have been telling me that my going to Florida probably sank Rudy. So that's about as tough as it gets.

CBSNews.com: The big word of this election season is change. And everybody's promising some kind of change. What do you think would be the biggest changes we would see from the Republican nominee if he were to win and succeed President Bush?

Sen. Kit Bond: Well, I think you've got to define change as what you mean. And I think that we would cut down on wasteful spending, illegal immigration. We need to avoid higher taxes. We don't need to have activist judges. So I think what the change we would see from a Republican would be lower taxes, less government spending, more private sector solutions for health care and energy challenges. So that would be the change we'd bring.