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Posted: December 14, 2007 6:24 PM
Giuliani Looks to Reenergize National Strategy with Florida Speech
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After months of maintaining a lead in national GOP polls, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is looking to revive his campaign — and his national strategy — with a speech in Florida that will focus on national security, the economy and immigration.

“Some people look at the challenges we face as a nation and they fear the future. I welcome it,” Giuliani will say, according to prepared remarks from his campaign. “I welcome the opportunity to defeat the Islamic terrorists who are at war with us because of our freedoms. I welcome the opportunity to restore fiscal discipline to Washington, D.C., while we empower millions of people to move out of poverty and achieve the American dream. And I welcome the opportunity to win this election … leading a revitalized, 50-state Republican Party into the White House.”

The speech signals a turning point in Giuliani’s campaign — from focusing on his mayoral tenure to a broader national vision – and is meant to rally Republicans behind him before the primaries.

“We’re going to energize our supporters and motivate them to go out and knock on doors, make phone calls and help us reach victory,” Giuliani’s communications director Maria Comella said in a campaign update.

As former Arkansas Gov. Mike Hucakbee gains on Giuliani’s national lead and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney continues to poll strong in Iowa and New Hampshire, Giuliani’s decision to jump-start his campaign in Florida refocuses his campaign on states that vote after Iowa and New Hampshire.

“You can’t spend all of your time in Iowa and New Hampshire and expect to win,” Giuliani told the editorial board of the Des Moines Register after Wednesday’s Republican debate.

“Casting the nomination fight as a national choice is Giuliani’s best chance at winning. He begins that sale in earnest on Saturday,” writes Chris Cillizza on washingtonpost.com.

Florida votes on Jan. 29 and more than 20 states go to the polls on Feb. 5, including California and New York where Giuliani holds solid leads in polls.

This national strategy, however, hasn’t stopped Giuliani from buying almost an ad a week in the New Hampshire and Boston markets over the past month. In his most recent radio ad, Deliver, a narrator reads: “He won’t just talk about cutting taxes and cutting government, he’ll deliver.” In a TV ad out on Thursday called Will, Giuliani says the United States needs “the political leadership and will” to end illegal immigration.

And, Giuliani gained some interesting media attention this week when he wound up on Time’s Top 10 Awkward Moments of 2007 alongside Paris Hilton crying and David Hasselhoff eating a hamburger because the former mayor’s children are not supporting his presidential bid.