It's Still Rudy's Race

Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson soaked up the sun in the Sunshine State - and, they hope, some Republican primary votes - this past weekend.

On Saturday, Romney and Thompson spoke at the Young Republicans National Convention in Hollywood, FL. Thompson brought the audience to its feet when he declared the U.S. the “greatest county in the history of the world,” which he was “getting tired of having to apologize for.”

Thompson’s rhetoric, at which the press scoffs for its dearth of policy proposals, electrified the crowd. One convention-goer, Kevin Fickert, noticed a “star power about him that I really like.” Another Thompson fan, Jacqueline Fay, dubbed him a “true conservative.”

Romney gave the keynote address, stumping on his record as Governor of Massachusetts. Policy wonks hungering for a position paper from Romney got a full buffet: Romney served the crowd his plans for dropping the tax rate on interest, dividends, and capital gains to zero and capping “non-defense discretionary spending at inflation minus one percent.”

But Romney also had a few laughs. Stressing the coming change in the country’s military, economy, and society, Romney quipped, “When the Democrats talk about change, they’re referring to what you’d have left in your pockets.”

Rudy faced a heat similar to Thompson’s glare - that of a race car. New York’s former mayor served as an honorary race official at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach on Saturday. The Southern crowd shouted “Rudy!” in support of the Yankee, and one Speed Channel commentator declared that Rudy would always be the Mayor of New York to him.

A Quinnipiac University poll shows Rudy leading among Republican primary voters with 27%. Thompson shines at 21%, McCain sweats the heat at 13% and Romney is scorched at 6%.