From
Real Clear Politics:
In a vastly overlooked but immensely important development this past week, Pat Robertson, the Imperial Grand Poobah of the Religious Right, has placed his Imprimatur on a Rudy Giuliani candidacy for president in 2008. When asked about the leading contenders for the GOP nomination on ABC's "This Week" last Sunday, Robertson touted Rudy's chances while dismissing Frist as someone he just doesn't see as president and McCain as one he'd vote against under any circumstances.
The Robertson endorsement, which came in very strong terms and emphasized Rudy's Catholicism, is about the highest honor a GOP candidate can receive from the so-con establishment in the national political arena. And Robertson, the Don Corleone of that establishment, has shown he can make or break a presidential candidate at will. Along with Ralph Reed, Robertson controls the most powerful political arm of the religious right, far greater than that of James Dobson, who supported McCain in 2000 and whose troops were far surpassed by the Christian Coalition's support for then-candidate GWB.
While Robertson's words may not quite seal the deal for Rudy, they almost certainly shut the door on McCain, who can now expect the entire South to be even more hostile to him than in 2000. And Frist, who is trying to harness the power of the cultural conservatives, is apparently on a quixotic quest back to his medical practice down South.
