Giuliani Campaigns to Win Over Iowans

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, the consummate New Yorker, sought on Tuesday to convince conservative Iowa Republicans he has plenty in common with them.

"We're all much more similar than we think, whether you're in Iowa or you're in New York, or California or somewhere else, you've got the same issues," the former New York mayor said on his first visit to the important early-voting state as a candidate.

Considered a hero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Giuliani leads all other Republican contenders in national popularity polls. Yet, his two inaugural appearances in Iowa _ one in the afternoon and another in the evening _ didn't draw enormous adoring crowds fit for a superstar.

As he seeks the GOP nomination, it's clear Giuliani faces hurdles in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. He not only is from ultra-liberal New York but he also backs abortion rights and gay rights, stances that may hurt him with the Midwestern state's Republican caucus-goers who tend to be more conservative than the party as a whole. State surveys show the race in the state competitive between Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

The ex-mayor's positions on social issues _ and his previous absence in Iowa _ have fueled speculation that he may bypass the leadoff caucus state as McCain did in his unsuccessful 2000 bid.

Giuliani tried to put that notion to rest; he said he would compete in the caucuses.

"It's a place where we're competitive. It looks like a place where we would have good chance," he told reporters. Still, it wasn't clear to what degree. He initially said he would take part in a straw poll in Iowa in August but later wouldn't commit to participating. Held in Ames, the straw poll is considered a significant test of serious contenders in Iowa's GOP field.

"I want to assure you we will be back in Iowa. We're going to be running in Iowa," Giuliani told those who attended a nighttime rally in West Des Moines. "Were going to be here. Were going to be listening to you. We're going to tell you what we think and we're going to listen to what you think. And then we're going to win the caucuses, surprise everybody, and then with your help we're going to carry Iowa and win the election."

The couple hundred people listening in the high school gymnasium gave him a polite but hardly rip-roaring reception. A partition divided the gym to make it appear better attended than it was.

Dozens of those who showed up didn't look old enough to vote. Handmade signs hung from a blue curtain behind the podium. Just before the candidate took the stage, a few in the audience tried to start a "Rudy, Rudy, Rudy" chant. It was a halfhearted effort that died quickly.

As usual, Giuliani barely mentioned his stances on social issues, preferring to focus on his mayoral record and leadership abilities. He typically only discusses his stances on abortion and gay rights when pressed.

Earlier, he met briefly with a few community leaders at a Cedar Rapids supermarket. Several dozen customers strained to get close to him. He signed autographs. He kissed a baby's cheek and played with a child's stuffed bunny. He shook hands and gave hugs.

"You did such a marvelous job in New York," yelled Kelleen Yancey, who insisted that he pose for a photograph. Giuliani complied. Asked later whether she'd vote for him, she laughed and said: "I don't know. I've always been a Democrat!"

After leaving the supermarket, Giuliani and his entourage _ community leaders, a few local residents and a swarm of reporters _ took a walking tour of a neighborhood.

"Hey, buddy, come here. I've never met a celebrity," hollered Harold Walton. Giuliani shook the man's hand, but that didn't buy him a vote _ at least not yet.

"I'm going to have to read a little more into it," Walton said, "but if he's good, why not?"