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	Giuliani, in KC, Sets Sights on Feb. 5 Super Tuesday Primaries Kansas City Star By Scott Canon December 20, 2007 http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/story/411248.html His front-runner status slipping fast, Rudy Giuliani whisked through Missouri Wednesday saying he was the Republicans' best shot at a "50-state candidate." After a fundraising lunch in downtown Kansas City, he told reporters that while his competition continues to concentrate on states that fall earlier in the primary schedule, he was looking more intensely to fare well in Missouri and the load of other states that have lined up for the Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5. Missouri "is an early voting state," the former New York mayor said at a brief news conference. "I see it as one long season, like a baseball season." He then shifted his metaphor slightly, to a single ballgame, and characterized Feb. 5 as a way to tell how long the race for the nomination would last. Giuliani said a clear winner of most of the Feb. 5 primaries — to include such prizes as California, Illinois and New York — would mean the game was nearing the ninth inning. If the victories were split among multiple candidates, then Super Tuesday would look more like the middle innings. "As soon as we found out that California was a Feb. 5 primary, we started campaigning in California," Giuliani said. "Same thing in Illinois. … Same thing in Missouri." His visit to Kansas City — followed by a town hall-like session in Columbia and a meeting with supporters in the St. Louis area — came as the social moderate's poll numbers have dropped against a surge from the more conservative Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor. A Reuters/Zogby poll released Wednesday showed Giuliani in a virtual tie nationally with the fast-rising Huckabee, who recently overtook former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Iowa. In Iowa, where Giuliani has not campaigned nearly as hard as the rest of the field for the Jan. 3 caucuses, he's fallen to fourth in the polls and draws half the support he did a few months ago. He recently cut back television advertising in New Hampshire, home to the first-in-the-nation primary and where he has fallen to third and seen Romney take a 2-to-1 lead over him in the polls. In Florida, which holds its primary Jan. 29, Giuliani leads the field by about five points in most recent polls. On other issues, Giuliani said he saw the energy bill signed by President Bush Wednesday as "a good first step" toward energy independence. But "it needs to be followed up by a bold new plan toward acquiring energy independence," he said. Such measures would include more investment in alternative fuels and in nuclear energy, and greater development of American oil. Giuliani lashed out at congressional Democrats for loading thousands of earmarks — little-debated spending measures aimed at hometown constituents in larger spending bills — after they criticized the practice in the 2006 campaign that gave them control of Capitol Hill. On Iraq, he said the surge of U.S. troops deployed there "seems to be working better than anybody expected … The future has peril, but it does in any war." Although he didn't say whether he would continue with Bush's schedule for troop reductions in Iraq, Giuliani warned that pulling out of Iraq too quickly could mean the loss of security improvements made in the past six months. Even with the gains, he conceded that reconciliation between the country's feuding sectarian groups is disappointing — but would be doomed if the U.S. abandoned security efforts. He was asked as he was leaving the news conference about his relationship with Monsignor Alan Placa, a childhood friend and the man who performed the services at the former mayor's second wedding. Placa was barred from the ministry after being accused of sexual abuse and of helping cover up abuse by other priests. Placa is an analyst with the candidate's Giuliani Partners consulting firm. "I trust him," Giuliani said. "I have faith in him." To reach Scott Canon, call 816-234-4754 or send e-mail to scanon@kcstar.com.
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