Giuliani's Firewall Has Collapsed

The Rudy Giuliani campaign has long called Florida its "firewall," meaning that even if he does poorly in the early states, Giuliani is so popular in Florida (and the state is so expensive for others to advertise in) that he will win the January 29 primary there, propelling him to the February 5 super-primary day.

On Sunday's Meet The Press, when Russert asked Giuliani about his poor poll numbers in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, Giuliani joked "I wish you had shown Florida."

Well, a new Rasmussen poll says the firewall is down -- it shows Giuliani in third place at 19%, behind Mike Huckabee (27%) and Mitt Romney (23%).

It's certainly possible that Huckabee will collapse between now and then, but the notion of Giuliani holding a Florida advantage is pretty much gone.