Tardy Giuliani turns elderly supporters into "angry mob"

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has insisted that a late victory in Florida will give his campaign the momentum it needs to lock down the Republican nomination. But a late arrival at a Florida campaign event on Wednesday antagonized some of the very supporters on whom the former New York mayor is relying in order to win the Jan. 29 primary in the Sunshine State.

"A friendly crowd of about 1,000 nearly turned into an angry mob waiting for Rudy Giuliani to appear at a downtown Irish pub in this well-heeled community this evening," wrote Dara Kam at the Palm Beach Post's "One More Question" blog.

Kam reports that while Giuliani did not show up until 6 PM, calls from his campaign to supporters advised them to show up early for a 4:30 event, leaving "many elderly supporters wilting in the sun and others jeering as campaign surrogates pled for patience."

And just as some supporters left the tardy candidate's rally, polls show Florida voters likely switching to other GOP candidates. While the firm Strategic Vision on Jan. 23 showed Giuliani in second place behind Senator John McCain but within the margin of error, most other polls point to Giuliani in a more distant second or even third place behind McCain and Mitt Romney.

read more | digg story