What’s so strange about a chief executive running for Chief Executive? Trump is a successful business man. That says more about his competence than Pence’s speeches and lack of experience ever can. What are Pence’s credentials? Here’s the deal about Trump:

1. Executive experience. Check.
2. Blasts through media gatekeepers. Check.
3. Not afraid to attack Obama. Check.
4. Is a household name. Check.
5. Is fiscally smart. Check
6. Is from blue state country–and would likely do well there in a general election. Check.

Come to think of it, these are exactly the creds Rudy brings to the table. How is it nobody here mentions the fact that in a very recent Quinnipiac poll Giuliani was the ONLY potential GOP candidate who beats Obama head-to-head 51% to 49%–? Inquiring minds want to know.

How is it a potential loser like Pence gets all the love around here? Are we that suicidal as a party? Do we yearn to win primaries and lose general elections? Wake up guys. Trump is a legitimate contender–and so is Rudy. Both would do well against a blowhard like Obama. So would Christie, another NY-NJ type, a far cry from the usual gentlemanly GOP selections.

in a general election. What we need to remember is ideological purity means nothing if you lose general elections. IT’S ALL ABOUT WINNING, nothing else. We can’t afford another loss, not if we love America. We need a potential winner. Trump may not be the right choice–but he’s a potential winner. He may seem like a showboater–but he’s a successful showboater because he was first a successful businessman and executive. There’s substance behind the glitz.

that he’s not a professional politician. He’s a businessman–and a showman. He’s going to have connections other politicians don’t have–to both parties. And he’s going to sound different–more like normal folks, not like a typical cautious politician. That’s hugely refreshing to both sides–but primarily to us. It’s been a long time since one of our guys attacked with gusto. It’s why we like Christie–who just called the teachers’ union bosses “thugs”–and why we like Rudy. These guys are from the NE. They’re not ideologically pure–but neither are they wimps. They FIGHT.

Trump’s got substance in spades. Sure he’s a showboater–but he’s also a successful businessman. He doesn’t fit our stereotypical idea of who’s presidential–but maybe it’s our idea that has to change. What we need above all is a WINNER–somebody who’s a fighter–who can blast through the media fog and tell it like it is. I’d prefer Rudy or Christie–but I’m open to Trump. He’s a blue-stater who will attract many blue state voters–like Rudy or Christie. We can’t just count on red states to win.

How does he NOT represent fiscal conservatism? He’s a businessman first. He understands economics and the global marketplace. Sure he’s filed for bankruptcy–but anyone who understands business should also realize that’s par for the course for most businessmen. What’s a disaster oth is the way some Republicans–think about potential candidates. They fall all over themselves pining for losers like Pence or DeMint, pushing for ideological and moral perfection while ignoring electability. They cross their fingers and hope for the best. That’s not good enough this time around. It’s naive and suicidal. Trump’s a blue stater–that says even more than the fact that he’s not just another politician–which is also btw a huge plus factor in his favor. But if you don’t like Trump–take another look at Rudy. They have the same NE attitude–as does Christie. They’re all fighters. Not one is a wimpish gentleman–though they may be ideologically imperfect.

is how you don’t post ideas, you post attacks on other posters. You do it consistently. Apparently your brain is as devoid of ideas as your posts tend to be.

political savvy, looks, an exceptional ability to articulate conservative ideas, and a huge Hispanic constituency. He also had a single self-destructing opponent in the primary and a three-way split in the general. None of this applies.

New York City’s budget is a third that of my own state–PA. It’s still bigger than most states–bigger than Indiana’s, for instance.

Brown, Rubio and Christie asked Rudy to campaign for them. All three won–big. How did that happen? Was it the Tea Party? Sure. But all three states have huge Italian-American constituencies. That’s long been an overlooked factor in Republican politics. This part of the electorate is as big as the black vote–one twelfth–and just as concentrated in the NE and other big states like OH, PA and FL. It was madness to ignore this in 2008. Rudy polled far better than McCain throughout 2007 and right up until the NH primary. He was ahead of both Obama and Hillary in PA by double digits. He was ahead in blue states like NJ and CT–far ahead of McC. It makes no sense to ignore this reality. Rudy is hugely electable. He’s a household name. He’s a well-known reformist. He’s a leader. Yet he can’t get to first base in places like IA and SC, What should that tell you? I know what it tells me. There’s a lot wrong with a system that is so careless about electability.

Doesn’t matter how some of his ventures fared. He’s rich and getting richer. He knows the way the game is played. He has wide name-recognition and lots of money. And he’s not intimidated by Obama’s race or by his lies. That’s a lot going for him in my book.

Nice try–still clueless.

1. He emerged from 9/11 like Churchill during the London Blitz.

2. By revolutionizing crime-fighting, he drove overall crime in NYC down 56.1 percent, and homicides down 66.6 percent, making it one of the safest big cities in America.

3. Abortions on Giuliani?s watch dropped 16.9 percent, according to figures from the New York State Office of Vital Statistics. Rudy pro-actively pushed for adoptions.

4.He cut welfare rolls 58 percent, starting two years before federal welfare reform.

5. He privatized 23,625 city-owned dwellings.

6. He fought race and gender politics, dumping set-asides and overbid bonuses for minority and female contractors.

7. He closed the Offices of African-American/Caribbean Affairs, Asian Affairs, European-American Affairs, Gay Community Affairs, Immigrant Affairs, Jewish Community Affairs, and Latino Affairs.

8. He established the $10 million Charter School Improvement Fund helped 3,286 pupils in 17 new charter schools, up from zero. students, He eliminated tenure for school principals and fired slackers. He ended promotion of students doing poorly;

9. He ended open admissions at the City University of New York. SATs for freshmen rose from 863 in 1993 to 1,049 in 2001, a 21.6 percent improvement. Minority enrollment actually jumped despite liberal predictions.

10. He protested taxpayer support of a Brooklyn Museum exhibition that featured a painting of the Virgin Mary made with elephant dung and photos of private parts.

11. Under his tenure Times Square now is family-friendly, instead of being comprised of porno shops. Because of him the city prohibited sex shops within 500 feet of schools, churches, and residential communities.

12. He governed as a Reaganite supply-sider, scrapping more than twenty taxes, lowering the city’s tax burden by 17 percent and saving individual and business taxpayers $9.8 billion. A family of four earning $50,000 saw its local taxes plummet 23.7 percent.

13. He hired 12 percent more cops and 12.8 percent more teachers, bit sliced bureaucrats 17.2 percent. Overall, municipal headcount fell 3.1 percent.

14. Local unemployment dropped from 10.4 percent in 1993 to 5.7 percent in 2001 even as population grew 9.3 percent. Tourism rose 32 per cent.

As for Rudy–he’s got a fiscal record. Why not take it more seriously? Quinnipiac just days ago had him as the ONLY Republican who polls ahead of Obama RIGHT NOW. Shouldn’t that interest us?

He’s not even a politician. But he’s an American who loves his country and has certain smarts concerning business–which we’re in dire need of at this juncture.

Going for somebody approved by farmers in IA? How does that get the vote of somebody in PA or OH, let alone FL. Trump has half the battle won if he enters the fray–enough name recognition and money to fuel a campaign. The average guy on the street likes him and thinks he makes sense. Who cares if he’s politically correct as far as the establishment goes–i.e., Washington pols and pundits.