October 12, 2007
Thompson (Tommy That Is) Endorses Giuliani
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Rudy Giuliani became the first Republican presidential candidate to pick up the support from one of his formal rivals, as former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson gave the former New York City mayor his endorsement.
"I want a candidate that can lead and bring America together," Thompson told a small group of supporters at a downtown hotel. "And that's Rudy Giuliani."
Thompson, who served the Bush administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said he heard from some people that Giuliani was not conservative enough, but believed he showed his true colors by cutting taxes and welfare roles in New York.
"Then I thought to myself, if in fact I have to wait around for the perfect candidate ... I might as well wait another five years," he said. In the end, Thompson said he believed Giuliani was the most likely to defeat Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"There is no perfect candidates, but I'll tell you, when you look at all the candidates, there's one candidate that always comes right to the top, just like cream," Thompson said, noting that he came from a farming state.
Thompson introduced himself to the South Carolina crowd by noting he ran for president this year and "most of you probably didn't know it."
Thompson said he spoke to several candidates after he dropped out of the race.
"It was simply a straight forward process," he said. "I looked at the record, and the record from Mayor Giuliani was extensive, complete and very, very good."
While campaigning, he told voters he believed the Republican party needed to coalesce around a pro-life candidate. Noting that Giuliani was pro-choice, he said Friday that "the law in America is what it is."
"Who is going to have the opportunity to appoint the next member of the United States Supreme Court ... and if a Republican doesn't win, that's probably going to be Hillary Clinton," he said. "I ask you who would you rather have in the Oval Office choosing the next member of the Supreme Court, Rudy Giuliani or Hillary Clinton?" Chants of "Rudy!" followed.
Speculation had been milling for several days that Giuliani would receive the endorsement of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. Giuliani said he would welcome Sanford's endorsement.
"I think everybody would like to have Gov. Sanford's support," he said.
Giuliani began the day in Columbia, speaking to a group of home builders and realtors. He took the opportunity to express his support for private investment.
"The America dream gets extended every time someone buys a house or buys property," he said. "Maybe you can think of yourself as dream sellers. You sell someone a dream or build someone a dream. What can be better than that?" [MATT BERGER]
Posted at 05:18 PM
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