Testing the Waters

It's all over but the pre-mortems. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, is going to run for President.

The former mayor filed papers to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., establishing a New York-based panel that would allow him to raise money to explore a White House run and travel the country.

The four-page filing, obtained by The Associated Press, lists the purpose of the non-profit corporation "to conduct federal 'testing the waters' activity under the Federal Election Campaign Act for Rudy Giuliani."

The paperwork, dated last Friday, is signed by Bobby Burchfield, a partner at the DC-based law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, a firm that handles political work.

Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel declined to comment.

One potential rival for the GOP nomination, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, said Sunday he was taking the initial step of setting up an exploratory committee.

GOP conservatives might hold their noses over Rudy's social positions, but they like most of the rest of the country know that he knows a thing or two about security and law and order. The field is expected to grow even more:

The GOP field is expected to grow with Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Bill Frist (news, bio, voting record) of Tennessee, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and New York Gov. George Pataki expected to join the presidential fray.

Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa has filed to establish a full-blown campaign committee and will make a more formal announcement of his candidacy later this month.

Of that group, Pataki is probably the worst possible potential candidate and shouldn't even be in the pool. He has few accomplishments to his name as New York continues to have a poor business climate, and his stewardship of the Ground Zero rebuilding is abysmal. That he actually thinks he's got a snowball's chance of winning shows that his political acumen is sorely lacking. The New York State GOP is in shambles and he's done little to cultivate new candidates for statewide positions. He also can't hold a candle to Rudy, and both share similar social positions.

Rudy's biggest impediment is his social positions; he's for gun control, same-sex civil unions, embryonic stem-cell research and abortion rights, which would hamper his ability to get the nomination but would be an asset in the general elections. Potential VP material if he doesn't get the nomination.

However, if you think that the big issue is the war on terror and national security, it's his stance on national security and public persona as a man who can handle the pressures with grace and dignity that are quite attractive going forward.