Giuliani not so artful in dodging

By MICHAEL GOODWIN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
John McCain was passionate and vigorous, Mitt Romney was quick and opportunistic and Rudy Giuliani looked uncomfortable and dodgy on the key question of abortion. He probably won't be the front-runner for long after Thursday night's performance, and that means the Republican race is up for grabs.
While McCain and Romney helped themselves with strong showings, the ridiculous format dominated the showdown. It squelched seriousness, complete sentences and even thought. This was not a debate. It was speed dating on steroids.
It starts with the math -- 90 minutes divided by 10 candidates. Throw in about 50 different questions asked by three different journalists and the result is a mad dash to beat the clock. Even Iraq got the bum's rush. The bam-bam pace was so fast that the TV camera operators sometimes couldn't find who was speaking. That's how I knew I wasn't alone in being exasperated.
Hyperactive moderator
Never again should we force would-be presidents to raise their hands like schoolchildren to get a chance to say how they would lead the country. Nor should we force them to talk over a hyperactive moderator. I'm not asking for a rerun of Lincoln-Douglas debates. I just think deliberation and extended expression are still important tests of a President.
Because each candidate had so little time, most had a game plan that focused on key themes. They all succeeded in defining themselves as conservative and a member in the Church of Ronald Reagan. Primary voters required the first, while the setting, at the Reagan library, dictated the second.
George Bush, on the other hand, would get about the same approval from the 10 candidates as he gets from all Americans -- 35 percent. Although he got a few compliments, nobody embraced Bush.
As with the Democratic debate last week, the three top-tier candidates aimed mostly to counter their negatives.
McCain and Romney both did well in that regard, Romney especially. While McCain was trying hard to be bold and vigorous -- he's been called too old and lethargic -- the effort sometimes looked staged.
He leaned forward, gestured and pointed every time he spoke.
He kept a strong smile even when it didn't fit. A forceful answer about terrorism and Osama bin Laden ended with his saying that "I'll follow him to the gates of hell." Then he smiled. That was odd.
Lofty conservative principle
Romney was very good at turning every answer into a statement of lofty, conservative principle. He spoke of family and marriage and faith and turned a question about "what don't you like about America?" into a poetic ode to our nation. He came across as sharp and jaunty.
Giuliani kept trying to capture that spirit, but never quite did. He got the first question, about how few Americans think the country is on the right track, and fell into an answer that felt scripted -- linking his mayoralty success to Reagan's optimism. He returned to those touchstones all night, to a fault.
Most important, Giuliani magnified a major weakness he has with conservative voters and simultaneously hurt his image as a straight shooter. The topic was abortion and his first two tries were tortured and murky. Instead of boldly declaring himself pro-choice, which he did just two months ago, he first said it "would be OK" with him if the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. He then said it "would be okay" if it was upheld as a precedent. That's not a position -- that's a waffle.
Moderator Chris Mathews tried to help him by giving him another chance, and again Giuliani stumbled. Asked about public funding for abortion, Giuliani downplayed his support as mayor, saying "the decision in New York was made a long time ago" and said the issue should be left to each state. Fair enough, but where do you stand?
On a third try, later, he came closer to what he probably wanted to say. After saying how much he hated abortion and supported some restrictions, he finally said it: "But you have to respect a woman's right to make a different choice."
Whew. That he seemed to shrink from the topic won't please conservatives or help him appeal to independents and Democrats. McCain and Romney will gain support at his expense, and his performance will make it more likely Sen. Fred Thompson will get in the race.
Good thing for Rudy there's a long way to go. He's going to need lots of time to repair the damage he inflicted on himself.
Michael Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.