Overconfidence + Poor Campaigning = Humiliation for Giuliani

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, future candidates for America’s top position, here are three important things not to do in your battle to obtain that lofty spot.

1) Don’t rest on having a decent lead. It portrays resting on your “laurels” and play to lose instead of playing to win mentality.

2) Don’t use a local or national tragedy to inflate your record, whether it is spectacular by itself or features a lot of dubious decision making and mixed feelings about your tenure.

3) And last but not least, NEVER, EVER, put all you eggs in one basket, i.e., focus on one state over the others in the start of the road to the White House. It shows a sense of apathy from you towards other states, and brings a thought of “Are you trying to be the President of the United States, or the President of Your Own Desired States.” It breathes a sense of intentional neglect and arrogance.

All these three things are totally prohibited from a successful attempt at being the commander-in-chief in this country. Unless, of course, you are one Rudolph W. Giuliani, the inspiration behind all these edicts being created.

For as Tuesday night signaled the embarrassing end to his campaign, the former Mayor of New York City is the standard barrier of tacky campaigning, ridiculous self-indulgence in one’s self, and refusing to adjust to an ever changing political atmosphere.

From the middle of last year, Giuliani was indeed the favorite just like John McClain is now. In fact, he may have been more of a front-runner than the Arizona Senator’s sudden re-emergence into the forefront of the GOP. Compared to his competition, Giuliani was either more visible or more favored across the country. McClain was beginning on the “being old and finished” slump he was in, Mitt Romney was looked peculiarly at for his Mormon beliefs by the party, and only the people of Arkansas or actual liars would say they knew anything about Mike Huckabee. In fact, Giuliani’s main rival when he was on top was none other than Fred Thompson.

Boy, how times change.

In that span, Giuliani’s record of being close with shady figures such as Bernard Kerik, exaggerations about his accomplishments, and revealed information about his controversial personal life surfaced. Multiple marriages, disownment of affection from his son, and even his moment of Yankee infidelity by endorsing the rival Red Sox sullied all the positive energy he and his camp had in the beginning. Still, despite all of those things, and the emergence of Huckabee and Romney, the Big Apple figure still had a great shot at getting the Republican nomination.

What truly did cost Giuliani’s demise was the pestilent amalgamation all candidates of any party must avoid: arrogance and indolence. The strategy of going after Florida and not even giving Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, and South Carolina the light of day on campaigning or just even making consistent visits to those states was quite possible the stupidest move from any team on both sides in this presidential race. His decision to place all his hopes on Florida just because it had more delegates is equivalent to a team penning its hopes on making the playoffs after basically tanking the beginning stages of the season.

It is a risky gamble that will for the most part leave you burned in politics, especially when it happens while going for the biggest prize in the land. Similar to the national lead he had, his lead in Florida was gone because of only focusing on Florida. And his unwillingness to adjust his position, still thinking that he was the jewel of the party, added to his abasing demise.

His city favored Mike Bloomberg, the man that replace him and holds a frosty relationship with, over him if they ran against each other in the race, a possibility now impossible. Still, he continued to think he was the darling of the five boroughs.

He repeatedly told of his hero deeds on 9/11, again, after again, after again. Despite it being annoying and downright narcissistic, he continued on with that.
And when asked on Tuesday morning, despite being 15% behind in the polls in the state where it was either sink or swim, where he put almost all of his time in, more so than in New York, he continued to believe he was going to win in the “Sunshine State”. You couldn’t deny after all of that his world class dexterity in the art of denial.

Some will try and say that Giuliani didn’t have enough money to campaign in all of those other states before Florida, which is about as ridiculous as his painful attempts at being a comedian. Huckabee’s budget seems to be in recession like the country’s economy by the growing day, yet, he has forever made himself a notable figure on the national stage with his diligence to be conspicuous everywhere. McClain was barely getting table scraps from anyone, and look at how he has responded. And the guy on the “Elephants’ side” with the most money, Romney, had to swallow a bitter defeat to the 71 year old Congressional figure. In short, lack of funds is an intolerable and poor excuse for how unintelligent and unimaginative Rudolph, the bald haired politician, entire campaign was run.

The sports analogy has already been used and represents this political blunder effectively. But even a better example is this one: Giuliani’s great start and horrible finish is similar to a music artist going gold the first week and not even promoting the album after that. Assuming its going to go platinum is a colossal mistake, and in all honesty, comparing him to these two plats is very generous. More fitting medals for him are sliver and aluminum, because it was a total collapse.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, to end, if you fail to avoid doing those three rules mentioned at the beginning, at least be gracious in defeat. Rudy Giuliani was in his final speech as a candidate, and it helps that he is close friends with John McClain, who he has decided to endorse the rest of the way.

But it doesn’t wipe away the baker’s dozen of eggs on his face from his fall from political grace. May you all learn from this, and never have this same fate happen to you.

Goodbye.