I want to begin by saying that my thoughts and prayers are with the survivors as well as the families, friends and colleagues of the victims of the tragedies at Virginia Tech.  Speaking of which...

OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Yesterday, any attempt to access Giuliani's website was routed through a black page with simple white writing that said:

"On this day of national tragedy, when we lost some of our finest to a senseless act, we stand together as a country to mourn those who lost their lives.

"My thoughts and prayers continue to be with the survivors and the many friends, colleagues and family members of those who perished. May God bless them all."

-Rudy Giuliani

The campaign also released this statement:

"Our nation mourns for those who were killed, prays for those who survived and stands shoulder to shoulder with the families, friends and loved ones of all touched by this horrific tragedy.

"Tomorrow is a day for prayer, reflection and unity. It is a time for our great country to come together.

Mayor Giuliani has cancelled all political events tomorrow."

Before the tragedy, Giuliani's campaign released financial statements for the first quarter, and announced an expansion of his financial team.  

WHAT HIS OPPONENTS ARE SAYING:

John Edwards said on Monday that he was the strongest candidate for the Presidency, and he mentioned Rudy:

"I think I have the strongest chance of changing the electoral map," Edwards said in an interview with The Associated Press. "If Senator McCain or Mayor Giuliani or Governor Romney, if one of them is the nominee, I think we have a great chance to win, not just Ohio, but to win some Southern states.

"I think in the case of most of the other (Democratic) candidates, they're just not tested in that regard," said the former one-term North Carolina senator.

NEWS FROM THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA:

The massacre at Tech on Monday has put gun control on the front burner.  There have been several articles about how the various presidential candidates measure up on gun control, and here's an excerpt from Reuters:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton won a worst-possible F- rating from the Gun Owners of America, but it was scathing about Republican Rudy Giuliani as well. Other main candidates have not endeared themselves to gun groups, although some have tried to soften their image.

"Most of the leading candidates have a history of being pro-gun control," said Robert Cottrol, a law professor at George Washington University and an expert on gun issues. "Certainly it's true of the three leading candidates in the Democratic Party. And it's also true of Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in the Republican Party."

Every major news service also reported on Rudy postponing his speech at Regent University in VA Beach due to the Tech massacre.

The American Prospect wrote a long, in depth article on "What Rudy Believes," which is VERY worth reading.

MSNBC wrote today in an article on the Virginia Tech fallout: "The Politico reports that Giuliani's camp yesterday issued a statement in Giuliani's name stating that the Virginia Tech tragedy "`does not alter the Second Amendment.'" Said Giuliani: "`People have the right to keep and bear arms and the Constitution says this right will not be infringed. The recent Parker decision makes it clear that restrictions, if any, must be reasonable and these are best decided on a state-by-state basis,' [he] concluded, referring to the recent federal appeals court decision overturning the gun ban in Washington, D.C. But Giuliani was once a strong supporter of enacting federal restrictions on access to firearms.""

The Wall Street Journal reported that T. Boone Pickens Jr., a hedge fund manager from Texas, has become the main contributor to Rudy's campaign:

The 78-year-old hedge-fund manager and former corporate raider says he has raised more than $500,000 for Mr. Giuliani's campaign. That makes him one of the candidate's top fund-raisers, according to people with knowledge of the campaign. He raised more than $50,000 alone from employees of his energy hedge fund, BP Capital Management LP, according to Andrew Littlefair, a business partner of Mr. Pickens. Federal election filings show that Mr. Pickens's executive assistant gave $2,100 to the campaign.

The Baltimore Sun drew comparisons between Giuliani's reaction to the Tech massacre and the Empire State Building shooting in 1997:

Ten years ago, when a man armed with a pistol shot seven tourists on the observation deck at the Empire State Building, New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani responded with an unequivocal call for more federal gun control.

"The United States Congress needs to pass uniform licensing for everyone carrying a gun. Congress must do more," said Giuliani, then a leading proponent of gun control.

This week, presidential candidate Giuliani reacted to the Virginia Tech massacre in a very different way -- with an expression of grief.

Giuliani and Obama are ranked highest among voters aged 18-24.  That's great, but this age group tends to vote less... so maybe a 'get out the vote' campaign for young people is in order??

WHAT'S UP IN THE BLOGOSPHERE:

Conservative

Captain's Quarter blog has a thorough report on Giuliani's statement that conservatives need to "get over" the abortion issue.

FullosseousFlap rebuts the argument that Rudy is a draft dodger:

The strategy is to have LEFTY Iraqi War Vets, Swift Boat Rudy as a draft dodger - which by the way he is NOT. But, Hillary's husband, Bill is. And husband Bill is an impeached President who pardoned Marc Rich, who Rudy indicted on criminal federal tax evasion and making illegal oil deals with Iran charges.

Might this be a reason to try to dispose of Rudy early. The Marc Rich story will make some fine television commercials.

The charges against Rudy are bogus and are old. But, this will not stop the LEFT from trying.

Also, a Giuliani-Thompson ticket??

This ticket works for Flap.

Flap doubts Thompson will get into the race. He is in the high teens in the polls and is about $20-30 million behind in fundraising.

Will there be an announcement by Rudy?

Look for it around the 4th of July.

Rhymes with Right posted about accusations that Rudy is 'pandering' on the confederate flag issue.

Watersblogged wrote about the 'worst case scenario' that Rudy could win the GOP nomination.

Dick Morris sees the race coming down to Giuliani and Fred Thompson, with Giuliani winning because "the war on terror trumps abortion." If Thompson were as vulnerable on the war on terror as Giuliani is on abortion and gay "marriage," he might have a point. But the fact is that he's not. Morris has been steadily declining in my eyes as a political prognosticator for some time. While I think he's right about the race narrowing quickly to Giuliani and Thompson, I don't see any way Thompson can lose such a matchup.

Liberal

A Tiny Revolution writes that:

I hope at some point during the 2008 campaign, someone will ask Guiliani: "Given that you believe George Bush became president due to divine intervention, can we also assume you believe God hates America?"

I think that's going a little far... but I would expect nothing less from political extremists (on either side of the aisle).

Also, the Huffington Post accuses Rudy of being a vampire.  Quote:

It turns out that dressing up like a woman, hanging with mobbed up business partners and recommending them as homeland security chiefs, having three wives, having a wife who's had three husbands and "omitted" one of them until recently, having no relationship with your kids, living with a gay couple, announcing your second divorce to the media before you tell your wife, making sad, half-assed overtures to the Right, supporting publicly-funded abortions, not knowing how much milk and bread cost, having no idea what the difference is between Sunni and Shiite, drinking the blood of small children and generally being an asshole doesn't play well with the GOP base (you would think the last two might make up for all the rest).

And finally the Left Coaster asks, "Who is Rudy Giuliani's foreign policy brain trust? The same nimrods that gave you Bush/Cheney's record of failure."