Jan 29, 2008 7:47 pm US/Eastern
Facing Serious Adversity, Rudy Remains Confident
Campaign Insiders Not Holding Their Breaths In Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS) ―
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Rudy Giuliani was all smiles on primary day in Florida, but many think his impossible dream of a win or a strong showing in the Sunshine State is more a pipe dream than anything else.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has his presidential dreams riding on Tuesday's Florida primary. He's put all his resources into the state, but did he make the wrong bet?
Giuliani's Florida strategy was always controversial. Insiders tell CBS 2 HD they're waiting for the polls to close with a mixture of hope it worked and skepticism that it didn't.
When asked Tuesday how he felt, Giuliani gave CBS 2 HD cameras a thumb's up.
Is it confidence or false bravado? Despite polls saying Giuliani's days on the campaign trail could be over, "America's Mayor" says that he'll confound the pundits.
"Other candidates have gotten momentum as they've won different primaries and that has created a certain amount of momentum in the national polls," Giuliani said. "I believe that we are going to win here today and that's going to change things."
Giuliani's controversial game plan involved bypassing Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina to concentrate on Florida. The state allows voters to cast ballots early and Rudy hoped to win them over before the other candidates got here.
"Rudy did a good job whenever we had 9/11 up in New York, but I don't know how he would do for the whole United States," said Orlando resident Bobbie Clifton, who voted for John McCain.
Another woman voted for Mike Huckabee. She said she didn't like Rudy's marital history.
"I just didn't feel like he was suited for me, for just what he believes in," Sandy Nassar said. "I looked at their personal lives and stuff, that didn't appeal to me. His personal life was opposite to me."
CBS 2 HD also spoke to a man who voted for Mitt Romney.
"It was a choice for me between Romney and Rudy," Bob Nicoli said. "Rudy is a good candidate, but he made a real strategy error in getting his campaign in front of the mass of the American people too late. He lost a lot of traction by doing that."
The polls in most of the state close at 8 p.m., so it won't be long before Giuliani finds out whether he can accomplish what now looks like the impossible dream.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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