Will his 9/11 families strategy rebound?

If you look at the betting on who will get the Republican nomination for the 2008 White House race there is only one person in it – the Vietnam veteran and Senator from Arizona, John McCain. His price is now at 1.36/1 and is way ahead of the second favourite, the ex-Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani.

Yet if you check the latest polls a different picture emerges – Giuliani has significant leads over McCain.

So why are punters not following the pollsters and is there value to be had on the man who made his name in the immediate aftermath of 9/11?

Some of the doubts might be being fuelled by stories like the one above in the New York Post this week. Yes – Rudy’s great period was in those harrowing days after 9/11 when his calm leadership in New York won him plaudits at home and abroad.

But being seen to exploit the families for his nomination bid has to be handled with extreme care and this story has sent reverberations across the nation. Will this rebound on him?

Mike Smithson