FLASHREPORT

California Congessman David Dreier is a supporter of Rudy Giuliani..

Rudy Giuliani kicked off last night's debate with an emphasis on optimism.  It was an entirely appropriate emphasis given the setting of the Reagan Library.  As Rudy said, President Reagan led with optimism and on the strengths of this great country.  Over the course of the debate, Rudy demonstrated he is the candidate that can lead as Reagan did, with optimism and strength. 

I believe Rudy can win California and the election in 2008. The polls look the way they do for a reason. Rudy's lead is real and last night we saw why. He was thoughtful. He was authentic. And he made clear that he plans to take the Reagan conservative principles he used to tackle crime, cut taxes and provide forward looking leadership to the White House.

Legitimately putting California in play for our Republican nominee will be key to what will surely be a hard fought victory for the White House. There should be no doubt, Rudy can do it. He has the right combination of Reaganesque leadership and a federalist approach to social issues.  On an issue like abortion, Rudy made clear he would not alter current federal law, nor would he use the presidency to impose New York Cityʼs abortion policy on other states. He believes, correctly in my opinion that in a federalist system states should set their own social policies.
                   
The debate also demonstrated that we Republicans have a vastly superior field to the Democrats on all the key issues, especially national security.  Rudy was right when he said the Republicans would take a more aggressive approach the terroristsʼ war against us. Our candidates are not interested in affixing blame. They're interested in waging an effective offense against terrorism abroad so that it doesn't come to our shores like it did on 9/11. As Rudy said, retreating from the battle at hand isn't the answer. The terrorists are at war with us, whether we like or not. Our next President has to understand this, and be willing to lead us in that fight. After this debate, Americans can see why Rudy is the leader we need for that fight.

Rudy's strong record as a fiscal conservative executive also came through last night. As New York City mayor, Rudy was committed to cutting taxes - in fact, he did it 23 times. Why did he do it? Because he understands that cutting taxes actually brings in more revenue. Just as we're seeing record amounts of revenue at the federal treasury thanks to the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, Rudy used tax cuts to significantly reduce a deficit. His support to eliminate the death tax, and make permanent those critical tax cuts are at the heart of conservative fiscal policies.
    
Rudy isn't Reagan. Nobody is. But like Reagan, Rudy is comfortable in his own skin, and he knows what he believes. There's very little guesswork with Rudy. That came through last night for all Americans to see we need Rudy in 2008.