Capturing The Center

For all the talk about swing voters, we have seen extremely low instances of crossover voting--when members of one party vote for congressional and presidential candidates of the opposite party--in recent elections.

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Will former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's perceived electability in a general election be enough to offset his more liberal social and cultural issue positions on abortion rights, gun control and gay rights, particularly considering his early strength in the polls among conservatives attracted by his post-9/11 leadership? Or, to put it another way, will a conservative party nominate a moderate-to-liberal candidate almost solely because of his electability?

To be fair and symmetrical, one might ask if Democrats might choose a former Sen. Sam Nunn-like conservative for their nomination? In 2004, even with Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., playing the Nunn-like role, the answer was no.