ORLANDO, Fla. — ORLANDO, Fla. -- Comparing himself to New York's come-from-behind pro football team, Rudolph W. Giuliani is predicting an upset over his Republican opponents in Florida.
"We have them all lulled into a very false sense of security now," he joked at the final debate before Tuesday's presidential primary, which he has indicated is a must-win for him.
Unlike the Super Bowl-bound Giants, though, the former New York mayor has yet to win a contest this season. In fact, he's barely put points on the scoreboard.
Ever since voting began, the national Republican front-runner for most of last year has been slipping badly. He's won just one or two delegates, depending on who is doing the counting, despite spending more than $50 million.
Unless he can come back in Florida's winner-take-all primary, he may well be on his way to setting a breathtaking new record for presidential futility.
The old standard belongs to another tough-talking Republican candidate, John Connally, whose big-bucks campaign fizzled at the ballot box. A single delegate is all the Texan wound up with after sinking $11 million into a 1980 presidential try.
Giuliani has spent more than 50 campaign days in Florida already, but his effort in the state seems to be stuck in reverse. During the past few days, the doubters have started saying that if he can't make it here, he can't make it anywhere.
The candidate appears undeterred. At campaign events, he couples an upbeat demeanor with a message that has changed little during the past year. He boasts of successes in turning around the nation's largest city and promises to do the same for the rest of the country.
"I believe I offer leadership," he told a small group of voters at a rally in Orlando the other day, standing in front of a backdrop that proclaimed Florida as "Rudy Country."
He's campaigned as though he were running for governor of the Sunshine State, dropping favors along the way aimed at various constituencies. He's toured the Everglades to promote continued federal environmental spending and visited Cape Canaveral while committing to increase NASA's budget.
Alone among the Republican contenders, he's pushing a plan that would reduce homeowners' insurance rates in Florida by getting taxpayers across the country to subsidize the risks posed by hurricanes and other natural disasters. He's also dangling a sweeping tax-cut proposal, which he calls the largest in history.
