Rudy Giuliani

Political Party: Republican
Current Position: Partner of the Bracewell & Giuliani law firm
State: New York
Political Experience: U.S. Attorney, 1983-1989; Mayor of New York City, 1994-2001

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from Rudy Giuliani's official campaign web site.

The front-runner of the Republican Party in most national polls, Rudy Giuliani is seen as a centrist Republican on several major issues. Unlike the conventional Republican stance, Giuliani is pro-choice and believes in civil unions between same-sex couples. He also favors stronger restrictions on domestic weapons. According to an Aug. 2006 poll from Rasmussen Reports, 36 percent of Americans consider Giuliani moderate, 29 percent conservative, 15 percent liberal and 20 percent are unsure of his political stance.

Giuliani's campaign issues are characterized in his "12 Commitments," where the first three are maintaining the American offense on terrorism, ending illegal immigration and cutting down waste in government spending, according to his campaign web site.

His goals regarding the war on terrorism and foreign policy include defeating al-Qaeda, strengthening the U.S. military and expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to elevate global security. Giuliani hopes to implement the Expeditionary Corps, which is "a new hybrid military-civilian corps that will help stabilize failing states and prevent the emergence of new terrorist safe-havens," according to his web site.

With regards to illegal immigration policies, Giuliani takes the traditionally Republican view. He believes in deporting all illegal aliens and "Americanizing" all immigrants. According to Giuliani's web site, "as President, he will propose that all immigrants who want to become citizens must truly read, write and speak English and learn American civics." He also hopes to create a single national database of immigrants in combination with biometric identification.

Although some of his platform strays from pure conservatism, Giuliani hopes to run a conservative national government like he did in New York City as mayor. If elected as President, he will cut the Federal Civilian Workforce (FCW) by 20 percent, according to his campaign site. According to the Congressional Budget Office's March 2007 "Characteristics and Pay of Federal Civilian Employees" report, 42 percent of the FCW will retire in the next 10 years; Giuliani plans to only replace half of those retirees. He also wants to legalize the Presidential line-item veto, which allows the President to veto parts of a bill rather than an entire bill.

Overall, Giuliani has held both traditionally Republican and moderate views on key issues. Not only does his moderate stance appeal to the generally centrist voter, he is also well-known for his leadership as mayor during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.