Rudy G.

I want to go on record now, February 2007, that I believe Rudy Giuliani will be the Republican presidential nominee in 2008.

In a recent poll, 44 percent of the respondents chose Rudy as the candidate they would like to see win the nomination.

I haven't chosen a candidate to support yet, although I was happy to see that Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, received 3 percent of the vote in that same poll as he is certainly close to the top on my mental list of possibilities. I wasn't sure how many outside of Arkansas recognized his name.

Huckabee is easier to spell than Giuliani. So is McCain (27 percent in the same poll). What kind of first name is Mitt (Romney, 12 percent) anyway?

Speaking of first names, wonder how many voters won't be able to find Rudy on the ballot if he has to use just his legal name of Rudolph William Louis Giuliani III. That's pretty long to fit "Rudy" in there, too, but I guess nicknames are usually allowed on ballots.

I hope so. I doubt a write-in vote for Rudy G. would count.