"And an electable one, at that", writes Steven Malanga, whom we interviewed in an early podcast last year.

A memorable Weekly Standard article a couple of years ago spoke of the environment of "punitive liberalism" that the Gipper took on when he was president. By the early nineties, nowhere was that attitude more entrenched than the Big Apple, and no better fighter of it was Giuliani.

Update: Or not: "Social cons agree — he’s the best Democrat in the field!" Just don't say it with Krylon.

Another Update: James Lileks writes, "Rudy Giuliani is in. Suggested campaign slogan: 'He dealt with Brooklyn. He can handle Baghdad'":

He's not a sure thing; he has enough baggage to fill the cargo hold of a cruise ship. His sundry personal-life issues bother social conservatives; the gun control stance dismays the Second Amendment wing of the party; the pro-choice opinions alarm the evangelicals. That leaves about 47 Republicans, right? After all, it's just a party of cousin-marrying yahoos who'd sooner shoot up Planned Parenthood than vote for one of those fish-on-Friday types. Right?

No. Voters are more flexible and forgiving than you might expect. And none of the objections obscure the central appeal of the Rudy candidacy: He'll nuke 'em if he has to. That won't be the central theme of his campaign, of course, but it's the unstated strength of his candidacy. He's not a wuss.