Giuliani Forms Exploratory Committee for ’08 Presidential Run

Membership Ticker

You come to Mother Jones for unique journalism, and we love doing it for you—especially at a moment like this. That's really it. That's the upshot of our fall fundraising drive, and we're hoping to raise $250,000 in a much shorter than normal three-week window, by November 5, so we can keep right on doing it. Please pitch in early to help us get there.

$250,000

You come to Mother Jones for unique journalism, and we love doing it for you. That's it. That's the upshot of our fall fundraising drive, and we're hoping to raise $250,000 in a shorter than normal three-week window so we can keep right on doing it.

Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter.

Rudy Giuliani has taken the first step toward a presidential run, forming an exploratory committee just a few days after news leaked that John McCain is doing the same.

Interesting quote from the CNN story linked above: “A document from the New York Department of State says Giuliani made the initial filing Friday.” What on earth does New York’s Department of State have to do with this? And what exactly is the function of an exploratory committee, other than signaling interest in running for president to the national media? I smell an “Explainer” from Slate.

Rudy, by the way, may have been inspired by this recent poll, which identifies him, Condoleezza Rice, and McCain as the frontrunners, in that order. He won’t be helped by some fairly idiotic campaigning he did before the 2006 midterms, in which Giuliani crassly invoked 9/11 in defense of the strongly anti-terrorist Rick Santorum.

Update: Quality background material on Giuliani and his presidential ambitions from Slate and In These Times.