Last night the New York Republican party held a major fundraising dinner in Manhattan, headlined by Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. Both candidates delivered very strong speeches, which were largely devoted to the importance of winning the war on terror. While Giuliani kicked the evening off with a lengthy and polished address from prepared remarks, McCain batted cleanup, with a short and rousing dose of off-the-cuff red meat. But despite their complementary messages, the most striking element of the evening was the mayor's attention to some new themes--the greatness of America, the resourcefulness of her people, and the strength of the nation's spirit--which gave Giuliani a surprisingly upbeat tone.
Both the New York Sun and the New York Daily News report on the dinner. They note that both men spoke highly of each other and saved their fire for their Democratic opponents. Regrettably, neither candidate has posted his address on YouTube (at least not yet).
Speaking first, Giuliani talked about the challenges of governing New York City, of cutting spending and taxes, reducing welfare rolls, and bringing crime down--all while working with a lopsided Democratic majority on the City Council. He noted that while no job can prepare a person to be president, being mayor of New York City comes pretty close. He spoke eloquently about how the Democrats--well-intentioned and patriotic though they might be--could not lead the nation in a war against Islamic terrorism, because they do not believe in the threat it poses.
But the novel portion of the mayor's speech was a long section devoted to discussing the greatness of America and the hard work and inventiveness of its people. He contrasted himself to the 'downcast' Democrats, who act as if America's best days are behind her. He talked about how the transformation of New York came from bright and committed people working together to solve problems--not from new government mandates and regulations.
In this portion of the speech, Giuliani sounded positively sunny. He clearly recognizes that Americans have traditionally chosen a president the more upbeat and optimistic candidate. Communications guru Frank Luntz--who was also in attendance--told me he saw this as an important theme that any serious Republican candidate would need to incorporate into his message for 2008. If this speech is any indication, the Giuliani intends to do just that.
McCain also performed well, particularly given that the evening had the feel of a Rudy homecoming rally. The New York audience was clearly there to give a warm welcome to a hometown boy. I was even told by an official of New York's conservative party that they were looking forward to endorsing Rudy. When I commented that it was odd that they'd give an endorsement to someone who ran for mayor with the backing of the Liberal Party, he told me "we see a whole different set of issues in a presidential race than a race for mayor of New York City."
You can see part of the Giuliani's speech here, courtesy of the Observer:
