Was Giuliani 2008 the worst Presidential campaign ever?

[King]

He was the frontrunner nationally a couple of weeks before the first primaries and finished with 0 delegates at the end of the last ones.

[Stranger in a strange land]

It just might have been.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I think Fred Thompson's eeked out Guiliani's as the worst.

[Bo]

I think Fred Thompson's eeked out Guiliani's as the worst.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

his campaign was not his main problem. his stance on abortion and gun control was his problem.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I can't really think of another instance where a candidate so high profile for so long was ultimately so inconsequential. He was the frontrunner for many months, yet at the end of the day he won just a single delegate.

[Mjh]

What I don't understand is why he waited for the Florida primary to jump into the race. I can see why he wouldn't spend time and money in Iowa and South Carolina, courting social conservatives and evangelicals that probably would never vote for him anyway, but why didn't he contest New Hampshire?

He basically allowed McCain to emerge as the only alternative for moderate and liberal Republicans that otherwise might have supported him.

[Stranger in a strange land]

What I don't understand is why he waited for the Florida primary to jump into the race. I can see why he wouldn't spend time and money in Iowa and South Carolina, courting social conservatives and evangelicals that probably would never vote for him anyway, but why didn't he contest New Hampshire?

He did: he had to pull out because the more he campaigned, the worse he did in the polls.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Yes, but then again Giuliani himself is one of the worst Presidential candidates ever.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Giuliani had a bad hand, and played it badly.

[GeorgiaSenator]

He could have pressed in New Hampshire and then had a decent showing in Fla then he may have had a shot. Fred Thompson's campaign was hot on his heels for the worst.

[tpfkaw]

He should have just skipped the debates and any appearances with unsympathetic press, and run lots of ads in New Hampshire talking about what a "conservative reformer" he was.

[Mr. Morden]

Giuliani's seeming "collapse" in the national polls begs the question of whether the polls were actually measuring anything "real" in the first place.  Were there really millions of voters who could have been called "Giuliani supporters" who changed their minds to McCain and other candidates, or were there millions of people who answered Giuliani to the pollsters' questions, but never really had any firm idea of how they were going to vote before the primaries started, and were just voicing support for Giuliani because of name recognition?

Should we actually pay any attention to national primary polls or polls of states other than Iowa or NH, or do they not really tell us anything?  Mark Blumenthal had this post a few years ago on the 2004 Democratic primary race, that included this chart:

http://www.pollster.com/blogs/primary_polling_primer_timing.php?nr=1



This was a running average of the national polls, with a time marking the dates of Iowa caucuses and NH primary.  Note how the national polls turned completely upside down after Kerry won Iowa.  And this isn't particular to 2004.  It's quite common for the national polls to turn upside down after Iowa and/or NH.  So then does it actually make any sense to call the person who's leading the national polls the "frontrunner" if (like Giuliani) he's not leading the polls in Iowa nor NH, nor does he have a lead in fundraising or support from the party establishment or anything else?  Was Giuliani ever really the frontrunner, or was the whole thing an illusion?

[Landslide Lyndon]

Giuliani was such a bad candidate that even if he ran the best campaign ever he would still have tanked.

[Phony Moderate]

Giuliani was actually one of the few Republican Presidential candidates in the last 30 years who wasn't totally awful.

[Antonio the Sixth]

As far as I know, looks like.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Giuliani was actually one of the few Republican Presidential candidates in the last 30 years who wasn't totally awful.

Really? He's an authoritarian asshole IMO.

And his entire campaign was, "I was Mayor of NYC when 9/11 occurred." Opportunist.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

And his entire campaign was, "I was Mayor of NYC when 9/11 occurred." Opportunist.

Amen! And good job to Joe Biden for pointing that out a few years ago! (Remember the "noun, verb and 9/11" quote?)

I'd vote for Biden over Giuliani, too.

[feeblepizza]

And his entire campaign was, "I was Mayor of NYC when 9/11 occurred." Opportunist.

Amen! And good job to Joe Biden for pointing that out a few years ago! (Remember the "noun, verb and 9/11" quote?)

I'd vote for Biden over Giuliani, too.

As would I.

[Fuzzybigfoot]

And his entire campaign was, "I was Mayor of NYC when 9/11 occurred." Opportunist.

Amen! And good job to Joe Biden for pointing that out a few years ago! (Remember the "noun, verb and 9/11" quote?)

I'd vote for Biden over Giuliani, too.

As would I.

LOL     Would anyone? 

[Mjh]

Amen! And good job to Joe Biden for pointing that out a few years ago! (Remember the "noun, verb and 9/11" quote?)

Indeed. That was the only bright spot in Bidens whole campaign I think.

[Mechaman]

And his entire campaign was, "I was Mayor of NYC when 9/11 occurred." Opportunist.

Amen! And good job to Joe Biden for pointing that out a few years ago! (Remember the "noun, verb and 9/11" quote?)

I'd vote for Biden over Giuliani, too.

As would I.

Better the wolf in persona than the wolf in sheep's clothing eh?

[feeblepizza]

And his entire campaign was, "I was Mayor of NYC when 9/11 occurred." Opportunist.

Amen! And good job to Joe Biden for pointing that out a few years ago! (Remember the "noun, verb and 9/11" quote?)

I'd vote for Biden over Giuliani, too.

As would I.

Better the wolf in persona than the wolf in sheep's clothing eh?

Yes. Plus Biden isn't a total sleazeball (key word: total ).

[milhouse24]

He was a Catholic, pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, NYC liberal running in the GOP primary.  He never had a chance.  The only reason he had name recognition was the Liberal Northeast Media based in NYC was in love with him and pumped his name up.  Nobody in the heartland cared for him.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

There's always Mike Gravel's 2008 campaign....