More On Bye-Bye Moron

Dan Balz does the Pre-Mortem

What has been more curious is that degree to which Giuliani has proved to be a campaigner who appeal to voters seemed to diminish the more they saw him.

New Hampshire is the best example. Of all the early states, Giuliani tried to run a serious campaign in the Granite State, where the moderate-leaning GOP electorate appeared potentially hospitable. In November, Giuliani began to run television ads in the state and on the weekend after Thanksgiving he barnstormed the state. Standing outside city hall in Manchester, with Mayor Frank Guinta at his side, he predicted he would win the primary.

Instead, his support went in the opposite direction. He had almost a quarter of the vote in a September poll by the University of New Hampshire for CNN and WMUR-TV; by late December he was at about half that level.

Giuliani tried multiple messages. He began the campaign as a 2008 version of President Bush's 2004 reelection posture: the man who would keep the country safe. He railed at Democrats warning that their views on terrorism would invite more attacks and more casualties.

He ran for a time as the presumptive nominee, traveling overseas to appear with leaders in Britain and claiming to be one of the most recognizable Americans in the world. He ignored his rivals to attack Hillary Clinton, hoping to signal to GOP voters that he would be their strongest nominee.

He ran as the mayor, promising to do for America what he did for New York. He offered up his record as proof of what he could do as president.

He ran as a Reagan conservative -- at least on economic issues, touting his commitment to tax cuts, welfare reform, school vouchers and other conservative ideas.

But often he ran half-heartedly. He ran instead as a celebrity