Rudy is conservative in a lot of ways.
The success of his conservative anti-crime policies shattered years of hare-brained liberal theory on crime, which only led to more and more murders, robberies, etc., though most of them aren't smart enough to notice or acknowledge it.
He also lowered taxes and fought to rein in the size of government.
It is only in the sphere of social issues that Rudy doesn't have good conservative credentials.
And this is New York. Not the rest of the country. Us New Yorkers, as a whole, aren't socially conservative.
That's not to say Rudy will win, of course...but the challenge he faces against Hillary in '06, the challenge he faces in the Republican primaries in '08, and the challenge he faces in the '08 General [HA!] are three very different challenges.
