Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani raised $17 million in second quarter contributions, leading the Republican field and doubling the number of donors to his campaign.
“We are thrilled by our fund raising this quarter and are running a strong and efficient campaign,” said Giuliani campaign manager Michael DuHaime. “We are well positioned to win both the primary and the general elections.”
One of Giuliani’s Republican competitors, Sen. John McCain, Ariz., raised $11 million, prompting him to fire 50 of his staff members to try to cut costs. Last quarter’s Republican money leader, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney raised $14 million for the primary but plans to contribute $6.5 million of his own to the campaign.
On Monday, Giuliani agreed with President Bush’s decision to commute I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby’s jail term after he was convicted of lying and obstructing justice in the investigation into the leak of a CIA agent’s name.
“After evaluating the facts, the president came to a reasonable decision and I believe the decision was correct,” Giuliani said in a statement released Monday.
Giuliani — who is recognized for his leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — also took the opportunity to weigh in on last week’s foiled terrorist bombs in London. He credited the training of the city’s emergency responders for their quick response in an interview with FOX News’ Hannity and Colmes..
“It’s got to be a great lesson to us. We’ve got to be on offense in the Islamic terrorist war against us,” Giuliani said. “Whether it came out of, Islamic-inspired or not, this is a good object lesson in how you have to deal with it.”
Last week, Giuliani received a standing ovation at Regent University, the conservative school founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson, and stuck to his role as a leader after Sept. 11 while avoiding other issues such as abortion.
During the speech, Giuliani also took a stab at former President Clinton, saying his choice to treat the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as a criminal act, not a terrorist attack, was a “big mistake.”
Giuliani sat down with the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board on June 25 and said about the next administration: “It’s going to be about how we approach terrorism and how we approach the economy — meaning the international economy and domestic.” Giuliani also said the United States should take “whatever steps necessary” to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and that President Bush’s decision to go on offense against terrorism was the biggest decision of his presidency.
On the campaign trail, Giuliani made a quick stop at Einstein Bros. Bagels in Irvine, Calif. A local resident captured a rough cut of the mayor as he ordered coffee — but no bagel — and chatted with Orange County Republicans about catching a round of golf. The former mayor went on to discuss his thoughts on immigration (see below):
Last week, Giuliani praised the Senate vote that blocked an immigration reform bill. “As I have said before, this bill — which I believed was based more on compromise than on principle — failed to do several basic things, including: securing our borders, creating a uniform tamper-proof ID card for all foreign workers and students, establishing a single nationwide database of foreigners, and mandating the full implementation of a biometric ‘check in-check out’ system.”
Giuliani has no public events schedule for the Fourth of July. In the week ahead, Giuliani plans to visit American Industrial Plastics in Daytona Beach Fla. on Thursday for a tour and a visit with the facility’s employees. On Friday morning he plans to visit with local residents at the Pan American Pancake & Omeleth in Myrtle Beach, S.C. before heading to Savannah, Ga. And then back to South Carolina to announce his Beaufort County Leadership team. On July 7, Giuliani is scheduled to return to Florida with stops in Jacksonville, Orlando and Daytona where he plans to attend the NASCAR 400 Nextel Cup Series.
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