Why Giuliani is hosed.

The Carpetbagger Report:

For the better part of 2007, Rudy Giuliani worried me, in large part because he’s the least capable candidate I can think of. In recent months, however, my concern changed to glee, as Giuliani’s campaign went from frontrunner to laughing stock.

Now, I realize that die-hard Giuliani backers continue to perceive the landscape as favorable to the former mayor’s chances. Huckabee won Iowa, hinting at a wide-open race. McCain won in New Hampshire, suggesting an even more wide-open race. If Giuliani can just hold on until Feb. 5, his skip-the-early-states strategy may actually pay dividends.

Except, it won’t. For one thing, Giuliani and his team fibbed quite a bit about their interest in New Hampshire, where they tried far harder than they let on.

Though former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has generally attributed his fourth place finish in New Hampshire to a campaign strategy that focuses on larger, delegate-rich states holding later contests, statistics compiled by ABC News indicate that he was clearly competing to win in the Granite State as hard — if not harder — than many of his rivals.

Statistics compiled by ABC News Political Unit and ABC News’ team of off-air reporters indicate that Giuliani held more events in this first-in-the-nation primary state than any other Republican except for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in neighboring Massachusetts. He also spent more on TV ads than anyone except for Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

In Iowa, Giuliani rationalized his dreadful, sixth-place finish by arguing (after a few words about 9/11) that he never even tried to compete in the state. But in New Hampshire, where he was the frontrunner up until a few months ago, he made a concerted effort to actually do well — and failed miserably. Whatever Giuliani was selling, New Hampshire voters weren’t buying.
It seems to be part of a trend.