"Damnit Jim I'm a doctor, not a politician!"

Today Giuliani received his biggest campaign boost to date.... Pat Robertson gave him a live and gushing endorsement. That wing of the Party, the Christian Coalition, for which Robertson through his young Lieutenant Ralph Reed founded, was the only shall we say "cautious" group in terms of supporting Rudy within the GOP. Prior to this it was rumored that Dr. James Dobson of Focus On the Family would start a third party if Giuliani got the nod - which would be disastrous for the GOP and all but assure a Hillary presidency. I don't see how Dobson would do that now - Robertson's faithful are the good doctor's core audience. Robertson undoubtedly was pleased/relieved (as was I) when Rudy indicated several weeks ago that Alito & Thomas were the model of justices he would seek for Supreme Court nominees even if it meant ultimately reversing Roe vs. Wade.

Also, what Robertson eluded to in his press conference is what I am hearing in the conservative chattering class more and more, along with everyday people with whom I talk (admittedly anecdotal evidence), and it's this: Rudy 's big plus among GOP voters is that we believe he will be absolutely ruthless with two groups: Hillary INC, and terrorists. He seems to be looked upon as the guy who won't hesitate to strike a death blow (politically or literally) if the situation calls for it. He'll fight bare-fisted and bite where as his closest competitor, Romney, seems a bit too refined for the times in which we live.

Well, I'm going on record now with my prediction: Rudy gets the nod and picks up Romney for the VP spot. I think, and James correct me if I'm wrong, that will be the first mayor to win the nomination, let alone the presidency. The other side is easy - Hillary, even with her disastrous debate performance the other night. I hope you all have caught that on the news, you'd have to be held up in a cave somewhere not to. Within the span of 60 seconds, with Senator Chris Dodd and moderator Tim Russert both pressing her for a straight answer, she said that Spitzer's (the NY governor) plan to issue illegals a legal drivers license was both a bad idea and a good idea, and denied ever saying either. It was the classic politician taking both sides of the issue, except she didn't pull it off. Now Bill is saying that Edwards and Obama (both whom smell blood in the water and have attacked her flip flop) are quote, "swift-boating" Hillary. At least the GOP is being smart - when your opponents begin fighting each other all you do is volunteer to hold their coat and shut up. But even with that Hillary won't lose the nomination, she's just too well organized and too willing to cross any line needed to win. It did occur to me though that she doesn't have an ounce of her husbands talent (not many people do), and that debate made it very obvious. And that's the problem when she's under pressure - in comparison to Bill she's twice as crooked and only half as good at explaining it, which means there will be one, maybe two debates in the general election and ZERO appearances on tough questioning shows like Meet The Press or O'Riley, as where Giuliani (presumably) will do them all.

Alright, in other news I bought a brand new 2007 Ford F-150 Super Cab. It's silver with black trim, power everything, and I love it!! That's my first truck - you wouldn't think so being I'm from Mississippi. The car I was driving was given to me after the storm by my father - a 98' Buick century; but when it hit 200,000 miles last week and couldn't pass the smog emissions test (ugh, the price of living out west), I decided what the hell, go get a truck finally. I got a good deal too - 1.9 % interest for 60 mos with 1,1oo down (they gave me 600 for that car). Don't ask me how I qualified for that interest rate. I can only guess it was because the salesman was from Pensacola FL and we talked at length about the storm during the test drive, so I got a sympathy rate.... sure as hell wasn't due to a stellar credit report. Titus, out of curiosity what did you end up doing with that big Dodge Intrepid I sold you? Did you have some one drive it all the way up to PA with your truck? I know you didn't leave the new truck.

Oh, and the next Democratic debate, hosted by CNN, will be here in sunny Las Vegas at UNLV. I'm thinking of trying to be in the audience - though I'm reminded of Sean Connery's words in Indiana Jones III when they hit Berlin: "Son, we are pilgrims in an unholy land."

Later guys ... live long and prosper (hey, I'm young and good-looking, I can get away with being a Trekkie without coming off like a nerd ... I've known the touch of a woman ... he he)
FR