Marc Rotterman, a southern political operative who's been a key adviser to Jesse Helms, is bucking the conventional wisdom which holds that Rudy Giuliani is too socially liberal to survive the 2008 GOP presidential primary. Here's what Rotterman, who's also the treasurer of the American Conservative Union, had to say in an interview with The Politicker blog:

"You got to put him in the top tier going into the game," said Rotterman. "I think it's very serious."

"I think after the recent elections, the Republican Party is looking for a leader who is fiscally conservative, who has the ability to pull people together and who can communicate correctly with the American people."

When asked how Rudy was able to attract big Texas donors, Rotterman said that they were responding in particular to his success in implimenting a fiscally conservative agenda in New York.

"I think spending is going to be a key issue in 2008, in scope and size of government."

The basic point here is that Rotterman is suggesting that socially conservative voters may overlook Rudy's stances on issues like gay marriage and abortion because he can "pull people together" and "communicate correctly" -- code words for "win." But as noted below, Terence Jeffrey, the editor of the conservative mag Human Events, dug up some past Rudy quotes on these issues and concluded he has "no chance" of winning the nomination.