And now Lowry...

As my colleagues on this blog have noted, many in the MSM are beginning to change their minds about a Rudy candidacy, going from writing Rudy off without a second thought to taking a second, a third, and a fourth look at the mayor. Well, now the same thing is happening in the MSCM (Main-Stream Conservative Media). Rich Lowry of National Review has been fairly skeptical about Rudy's chances up until now. But a post by Lowry today on The Corner suggests conservative journalists too may now be turning a corner when it comes to Rudy.

Lowry's post begins with a pro-Rudy email that he received from a reader. Money quote:

"'Giuliani's achievement in the day-to-day operation of government is arguably unmatched in the past half century. While motivated by big ideas, the success was all in the implementation and follow-through, with a government larger and more complicated than all but perhaps four states, and quite a few countries.

If social conservatism means anything it must surely begin with basic law and order. Giuliani proved over many years that on these issues he was a man of the highest honor and principles. In this regard he is something of an unusual character in that moderate Republicans have typically been squishy across the board.'"

Lowry's response reads as follows:

"There's no doubt that Giuliani's skill at running what until then had been a dysfunctional government failing to cope with a deteriorating city looks better and better, given the current national political circumstances. Rick Brookhiser has an excellent piece making the case for Giuliani in our new issue. Again, as I've noted before, NR doesn't yet have a candidate in the '08 race. And personally I think it's too soon to be jumping on any bandwagons. Let's see how these guys actually run."

Again, the door isn't exactly being thrown wide open, but Lowry has appeared to have opened it a crack. Dare we dream of the day when Lowry joins pro-Rudy Corner regulars J-Pod and Derb for a full-scale NR endorsement of the mayor?

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