Clad in charcoal pinstripes on an 80-degree day, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani shook hands with a few supporters and took in a little dessert Saturday before a fundraising dinner at former Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe’s house.
Giuliani popped into Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, in the Washington Park neighborhood, to answer reporters’ questions and eat vanilla frozen yogurt with Vanderweghe’s 5-year-old son, Reece.
“We have a very good babysitter,” Vandeweghe said, standing nearby. “We’re very comfortable.”
The New York Republican is among a parade of presidential candidates flocking to Colorado and other Western states in recent days. Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama will be in Denver today.
On Saturday, Giuliani shook a few random hands – a guy wearing a New York Yankees jersey, a woman who yelled over TV cameras, “I’m a New Yorker!” – after taking questions from reporters on Iraq, immigration and his name recognition in the West.
The former New York mayor is en route to Los Angeles and just came from New Mexico. Saturday’s fundraising dinner was initially supposed to be held April 16, the day of the Virginia Tech shootings. The mayor canceled events for a few days following the incident.
“Colorado is a state that can vote either way,” he said. “I know the election is a long way off … it seems like it should be next week.”
He said that Congress should support the troops in Iraq and study what would work there.
“The quality of life for the people in Iraq has to improve,” he said. The U.S., he said, should continue work there. “An Iraq that descends into chaos will be a great victory for Iran and the terrorists.”
Giuliani’s stance in favor of abortion rights have made some conservatives uncomfortable.
But on Saturday, he said he wasn’t worried.
“I’ve survived everything else,” he said. “I think I’ll survive the Republican primary.”
The former New York mayor said he wasn’t worried about Western voters knowing who he is.
“For better or worse, my name recognition is 95 percent or 96 percent,” he said. “Everywhere I go, people know me.”
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
