Pure Horserace: Rudy And Abortion

So far, Rudy Giuliani's balancing act on social issues has gotten lots of attention but hasn't hampered his position as a front-runner for the GOP nomination. Although the former New York City Mayor differs with many in his party on some core subjects, most notably abortion, he continues to lead national polls among Republicans and far outpaced John McCain in fundraising for the first quarter of this year — signs that the GOP is looking past those differences.

But that doesn't mean the press — or his primary opponents — aren't going to continue to talk about it, especially when his own rhetoric gets in the way of a clear message. Giuliani says he is personally opposed to abortion but supports a woman's right to decide that on an individual basis. But he's also sought to send signals to those who disagree by talking about the need to appoint "strict constructionist judges" to the federal bench — words commonly used to reassure abortion opponents who believe the right to privacy is seen by judges less-than-constructionist.

It's well-trod ground for Giuliani, but the aftermath of last week's GOP debate suggests it's a subject that will come up again and again. In that encounter, Giuliani suggested it would be "OK" if the Supreme Court decided to repeal Roe v. Wade — and it would also be "OK" if a "strict constructionist viewed it as precedent." Either way, it's "OK?" That's not an answer likely to please either side of this contentious debate — and it's one that's sure to draw further attention.

Sure enough, today features a convenient focus on Giuliani and abortion. The Politico's Jonathan Martin reported this morning that Giuliani and his ex-wife, Donna Hanover, donated $900 to Planned Parenthood organizations between 1993 and 1999, which on the surface at least appears to conflict with his professed personal opposition. Not surprisingly, the publicly available figures were helpfully pointed out by an un-named rival GOP campaign.

Campaigning in Iowa yesterday, John McCain offered his opinion that it will be difficult for any candidate favoring abortion rights to gain the conservative party's nomination. "I think it's one of the fundamental principles of a conservative to have respect and commitment to the dignity of human life, both the born and unborn," the Arizona senator said.

And it's not just campaign rivals who are keeping the focus, and the heat, on. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen makes an attempt to get inside Giuliani's head on the issue and imagines what "America's Mayor" was really trying to say at last week's debate: "I think abortion ought to be illegal and legal, depending on the choice of the people involved and the state they live in. I would appoint judges who are strict constructionists to make sure all of that would happen." — Vaughn Ververs

Clinton's Empire… State: New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is going to announce his endorsement of Hillary Clinton's run for president next week, The Associated Press reports. Though Spitzer had claimed earlier that he wasn't ready to pick a favorite candidate, his decision was never much in doubt. Spitzer's move means that Clinton has locked up the support of every major player in New York's Democratic establishment.

There's that word again: establishment. It's been tied to Clinton over and over, and today's news does nothing to diminish that. Clinton's supporters probably hope this endorsement and others will foster an image of Clinton as a steamroller — a word Spitzer infamously used to describe himself (with a profane adjective) in February.

But it also could fuel the fires of supporters of Barack Obama and John Edwards, who both seem to revel in not being the establishment candidate. The more endorsements Clinton gets, the easier it is for her rivals to draw a contrast between themselves and her.

So far, though, Clinton thinks the good side of establishment backing will outweigh the bad. In fact, with New York now solidly behind her, she's setting her sights on her birthplace — and Obama's adopted home — of Illinois.
— David Miller

Maybe Money Can Buy Happiness? Mitt Romney was the Republicans' fundraising star in the first quarter of 2007, raising more than $20 million. He's spent that money freely in his efforts to make himself familiar to voters. But until now, the former Massachusetts governor had little to show for it, coming in behind non-candidate Fred Thompson in some polls and enduring multiple stories about his shifting views on social issues.

But if a new SurveyUSA poll is right, Romney's money may finally be buying him something. A survey of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire showed 32 percent of respondents backing Romney, putting him comfortably ahead of Rudy Giuliani (23 percent), John McCain (22 percent) and Thompson (11 percent). The margin of error was 4.3 percent.

There is a chance this poll is a statistical outlier — no poll until now has shown Romney leading in any early primary state, much less by 9 percentage points. Also, the SurveyUSA poll is conducted by automation, not human operators, as is the preferred method.

But since it's unlikely anyone will care much about its methodology, the poll's results — which have received attention from the Boston Globe and the rest of the New England media — could have some impact by lending Romney some legitimacy beyond having a lot of money, showing his donors that giving again could be worthwhile and giving a serious morale boost to Romney's campaign, especially in New Hampshire. — David Miller

Editor's Note: Pure Horserace is a daily update of political news as interpreted by the political observers at CBSNews.com. Click here to sign up for the e-mail version.

By Vaughn Ververs and David Miller