Josh Sutton reports from a Giuliani lunch in London

Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliaini drew inspiration from Winston Churchill in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack on New York, he revealed today.

Speaking at a fund-raising lunch in London, Mr Giuliani said that his admiration for the British wartime leader, the architect of the special relationship between Britain and the USA, has made him all the more determined to confront terrorism and strengthen the bond between the two countries.

He even quoted from Churchill’s “fight them on the beaches”  wartime broadcast to underline his commitment to pursuing the War on Terror.

Mr Giuliani cited the alliance between Churchill and Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and Tony Blair and George W Bush as evidence of the powerful bond between Britain and the US. He would make it his mission as President to strengthen the relationship further.

The lunch was attended by about 100 wealthy Americans and dozens of London-based US correspondents.

Mr Giuliani was rapturously received by his audience as he set out his “Twelve Commitments” for a future Republican presidency.

In a evocative memory of the Second War transatlantic alliance, Mr Giuliani was interviewed on the platform by Celia Sandys, the grand-daughter of Winston Churchill.

She said: “I will see you in the Oval Office”.

He told her he wanted to focus his campaign on the traditional conservative grounds of low government spending and tax, support for the military and national security.

Conservative mayoral contender Victoria Borwick, who has pledged to introduce Giuliani-style zero tolerance policing, was the only senior Tory present at the lunch at the Hyde Park Mandarin hotel. 

Responding to a question from Mrs Borwick about London’s wave of violent crime, the former Mayor of New York said that his “broken windows” policy of confronting even minor crime was the only way to restore order to the streets.

She said later that Giuliani's staggering crime-fighting record – in which he had cut the murder rate by 66 per cent over eight years and halved the overall crime rate – had inspired her in her campaign to secure the mayoral nomination for the Conservative Party.

“He is a brilliant political leader,” she said.

Mr Giuliani is due to meet Margaret Thatcher tonight at the same hotel before delivering his keynote speech on his manifesto for a 2008 Republican presidential victory.

BritainAndAmerica was given a copy of Giuliani’s policy platform. His Twelve Commitments are:

1. I will keep American on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us
2. I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders and identify every non citizen in our nation 
3. I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending 
4. I will cut taxes and reform the tax code
5. I will impose accountability on Washington 
6. I will lead America towards energy independence 
7. I will give Americans more control over and access to health care with affordable and portable free market solutions
8. I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions and protect the quality of life of our children 
9. I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges
10. I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters
11. I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents
12. I will expand America’s involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world

Comments

[Donal Blaney]

This is a very, very smart collection of policies. Items 8 and 9 help deal with the difficult issue of abortion that matters so much to conservative activists in the GOP.

[Tony Makara]

Rudy Giuliaini definately looks to be the right man for the GOP nomination now that John McCain's campaign appears to be in trouble. What would the possibility be of a Giuliaini/McCain ticket? I think Giuliaini will reel in a lot of support from the more sensible wing of the Democratic party. My brother who is a regular vistor to New York has nothing but praise for the way Rudy Giuliaini has cleaned up Manhattan in particular. A Zero-tolerance approach to low level criminality clearly works.

[The Culture Warrior]

I very much hope Giuliani wins the nomination, and the presidency. He's just what America and the world needs.

[Anna]

Yes, I hope Rudy gets the nomination. This nonsense, "Officials Reject Iranian President's Bid To Visit Ground Zero", would never happen under Rudy's watch as mayor of NYC. Bloomberg, the current mayor, seemed to think it was just fine. Rudy threw Arafat out of the NYC opera and refused a large donation after 9/11 from some Sheik he didn't like.

I live in the South. Rudy plays well here because he's tough. We're not the drooling, moronic, knuckle-dragging fools that the media and political elite enjoy portraying us to be.

Rudy clowning around in drag? Too funny, because most of us have someone in the family who does the same thing. Abortion? Most of us leave it to the individual. Gays and lesbians? Our small town has always had a thriving group. We live and let live. Divorce? In my age group, most have had at least two divorces and are screwing up the third try.

So, Rudy rocks in my area.

Here's the link for the Ahmedindejad story. Too bad we have to host him again, but that's just one more insult added to the cost of hosting the UN and paying nearly 25% of their budget.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/14152775/detail.html?dl=headlineclick

[atheling]

Interesting that the poster comments that the dinner was attended by "wealthy" Americans...

[atheling]

If Rudy promises to defend Second Amendment rights and appoint strict Constructionist justices then I'm happy to vote for him.

I think he's the only candidate who can run circles around Hillary in a debate and outmaneuver her in his campaigning. He's proven his mettle as a good leader in a time of crisis and I think he has no qualms about protecting American interests.

[Kevin Sampson]

The two parts of #12 are mutually exclusive.

[Maduka]

Does the US need to project more soft power or hard power in the coming decades?

If we need to project more soft power, Rudy is hardly the man for the job.

[Steevo]

Ah, what is your point Maduka?