MORE "MODERATION" FROM GIULIANI

Rudy Giuliani has just gone Gingrichesque -- he's published his "Twelve Commitments to the American People." A few highlights:

I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists' War on Us.

I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation....

I will cut taxes and reform the tax code....

I will give Americans more control over, and access to, healthcare with affordable and portable free-market solutions....

I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges....

I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents....

Hmmm. We've been informed by the pollsters at Rasmussen Reports that only 21% of Republicans think Giuliani is a conservative (63% say "moderate," 12% say "liberal"). And if we were to poll Beltway pundits, surely that 21% would drop to 0%. But apart from his failure to call for the criminalization of abortion and the lack of attacks on gay people, does anyone see anything "moderate" here? Besides the tough talk on immigration (which really isn't all that different from some of what Bush is saying), is there anything that would make you even notice that we had a new president after 1/20/09?

Oh, yeah, there is one thing -- on school choice, as National Review's Deroy Murdock pointed out early in 2001, Giuliani's to the right of Bush:

Giuliani promotes school choice despite withering teachers' union opposition....

Giuliani avoids weasel words like "opportunity scholarships." He proudly embraces "vouchers." The as-yet-Republican Congress, meanwhile, has deleted school-choice language from President Bush's education plan. And Bush let them.

In its front-page story on the Giuliani laundry list, the New York Daily News explains the plan:

One proposal already causing a stir is a plan to let parents take their kid's public, per-pupil tax funds, which typically range up to $10,000 a year, and spend them on private school tuitions. "If you take the child out, you should be able to take the money out [of the public school]," said Giuliani, who fought unsuccessfully for a similar setup as mayor.

Say what you will about that, but it's not "moderate."