The polls consistently show that Rudolf Giuliani would beat Hillary Clinton in a presidential match-up.
The more pertinent question for pundits and bloggers is whether he can survive the race for the Republican nomination because of his socially liberal views: he is pro-choice, pro-gun control and favours immigration.
The Right's Field is certain that Mr Giuliani will drop out because the former New York City mayor and 9/11 hero is so out of kilter with most Republican voters.
Giuliani would be even more unacceptable to his party's base than (senator Joe) Lieberman was to the Democratic base in 2003.
Not so, says Half Sigma, who no longer buys the argument. For this blogger, the majority of both parties are moderate. He thinks perhaps one third of Republicans won't vote for Mr Giuliani, but that third will split their vote between too many other candidates. This will allow him to scoop up most moderate Republicans who "love Rudy's charisma".
Helping Half Sigma's conversion was an article by Dick Morris, the "triangulator" for Bill Clinton. Citing historical precedent, Mr Morris says all the signs point to a contest between Mr Giuliani and Ms Clinton, the two present favourites.
The key for the candidates is to become the early front-runner and hold the position for the first three quarters of 2007. Once that is accomplished, the nomination is probably in the bag. No clear front-runner, except for Rockefeller in 1964, has ever failed to win the nomination since the primary process became pivotal in party nominations in 1960.
Real Clear Politics also thinks that Mr Giuliani will prevail over John McCain because "leadership is going to be the single most important issue to Republican voters and this is almost certainly Mr Giuliani's strongest asset".
One would have thought leadership was the most important issue for voters anyway, but the interesting point raised by Real Clear Politics is that the Republican right does not like Mr McCain either. There is little love lost between the two as was evident in Mr McCain's failed presidential bid in 2000 and it is unclear whether he has succeeded in winning over the party's base.
The war in Iraq has not helped the senator either. Mr McCain strongly supports the Bush troop "surge" strategy - indeed he wants even more troops - and has been losing ground in the polls ever since. While Mr Giuliani is no peacenik either, he has not gone out so far on a limb.
But as the Giuliani camp made clear in a leaked campaign document, they are worried about their candidate's personal life with his two divorces. Surely his 9/11 status would trump that, but now his record on that occasion has come under attack in a new book much discussed by bloggers. As a frontrunner, Mr Giuliani can expect a lot more potshots once the campaign gets into its stride.
