Jason Horowitz of the New York Observer accompanied Rudy Giuliani to the McSweeney event in Schaumberg I wrote about last week.

I've seen Rudy in person three or four times now and the reception he gets from crowds wherever he goes is nothing short of reverential. Most Republicans I've talked to about Giuliani, both in person and via email, say they'd be willing to set aside disagreements on social issues and vote for Giuliani because national security and the global war on terror are ultimately the most important issues to them.

Whether this holds true for the folks who do the nominating a year and a half from now, or whether it's merely an initial false positive for Giuliani is something we really can't know with any certainty until we see the process begin to work and get a sense of how strong the alternatives will be. As I wrote a while back:

Eventually Giuliani will have to climb down off the pedestal we've placed him on, go to Rotary Club meetings in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, shake hands and tell conservative Republican voters what he stands for beyond just being a symbol of resolve in the midst of a national crisis that happened half a decade ago

Right now, Rudy's still on the pedestal.