I know what you're thinking: Rudy Giuliani was in New Hampshire? Though we did see the odd Rudy sign — nowhere near as popular as McCain or Romney or Huckabee signs, or, obviously, Ron Paul — still, we were surprised to hear that the man himself was coming to the Raddy for what would obviously be a concession speech (itty-bitty ballroom rental, no way big enough for a wedding, think bris). Around 5ish, the convention-room wing of the hotel started filling up with people wearing Rudy buttons (including this lovely man), and Glynnis and I were just on our way out to drop off the car and get her to the bus station (I was leaving the next day) when we saw a group we recognized by the door, which included the Daily Show's Kevin Bleyer (who obligingly picked up our call to refer to the Radisson as "The Raddy"), Mickey Kaus (friend to EconoLodgers), WaPo's cherry-cheeked Joel Achenbach along with fellow WaPo columnist , humorist Dave Barry and GOP strategist/consultant/wordsmith Frank Luntz. Turns out they were headed to the Giuliani rally — Luntz was on the list, yo — so Glyn figured it was too good to miss, and quietly tagged along.
So, I'm wondering: Does any other candidate have a freaking LIST to get into a rally, let alone their concession speech? There was a girl manning the "RUDY" table by the door looking at a clipboard as Luntz approached and explained who he was (we assume; we were not within earshot). He went in, and we followed, saying "We're with him," to the still-confused looking girl with the clipboard. Frank Luntz, ticket to all things! This was already surreal, but then again, it was a Giuliani event, and frankly with all the Romney-McCain-Huckabee hoopla we'd almost forgotten he was even in the race.
Here's what struck us when we got inside: Who the hell were all the old white guys behind Giuliani? We hadn't the faintest, and no one around us seemed to, either (Joel Achenbach joined us in scratching our heads — that's him in the vid, sporting his best plaid campaign casual). Also, we recognized this guy but couldn't place him. Anyone got any guesses?
Oh, right, what did Rudy say? Well, he cast himself as the underdog, of all things:
"Maybe we've lulled our opponents into a false sense of confidence now." [Applause]. "We were prepared for this from the very beginning. It fits into how we looked at this from the very beginning, about there being at least 29 primaries and caucuses between January 3rd and February 5th."
Translation: Thanks for coming out, New Hampshirites! We so totally don't care about you! Looks like I have more respect for Jack Harms than Rudy does. He went on:
"Now we're off to the next group of them with renewed vigor, renewed spirit and some great new proposals about how to make America safer, how to make America stronger, and how to make America more prosperous. Again, my congratulations to the winners, my congratulations to you."
I am really confused about who, exactly, he was congratulating — congratulations to you, handful of New Hampshirites who voted for me but were soundly trounced and I didn't really work that hard to win your votes, anyway? Or, congratulations to you, you made it past the girl with the clipboard, largely thanks to your association with Frank Luntz? We didn't stick around to find out. We figure he'll make himself relevant some way or another by Florida...but we're curious to see how he deals with Huckabee there. Because at Huck's event on Monday night, Glynnis and I met two women who had driven up from Orlando to support him, and they'd been fervent fans since March. And they're not alone. A message to you, Rudy!
And that makes about as much sense as everything we saw at the Rudy rally. We never did find out who the white guys were.
p.s. Achenbach writes about the event here.
p.p.s. Also, um, sorry for the giddiness. By this time the campaign cocktail of sleep-deprivation, adrenaline, junk food and diet coke had firmly taken hold.
p.p.p.s. See? Rudy supporters out in the street. They did exist! Captured for posterity by our friend and EconoLodge roommate Sophie Donelson (see more of her pics from the campaign trail here).
