Most of the time, I’m absolutely convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that it’s literally impossible for Rudy Giuliani to get the Republican nomination. It simply defies comprehension. He supports abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control. He claims to be an expert on national security matters, but knows nothing about the issue. His foreign policy answers are child-like. He’s inexplicably endorsed Bush’s Iraq policy. He’s a notorious adulterer who marched in a parade with his mistress and told his second wife he was seeking a divorce by way of a press conference.

By any reasonable measure, this guy has about as much chance at getting the GOP nomination as I do. But then, there’s the media. Digby noted this gem from Hardball the other day.

FINEMAN: He doesn’t — he looks like a guy who, if he had had the opportunity to grow up as a hunter, would have been a great one.

MATTHEWS: Yes.

FINEMAN: He just gives off the aura of a guy who wouldn’t be afraid to use a gun, you know? That’s just — and that’s the record that he had in New York.

Just mull that over for a moment. Two well-paid media professionals, from major news outlets (Newsweek and NBC) told a national television audience that Giuliani “looks like” someone who could have been a “great” hunter.

I’ve heard teenaged girls with crushes on boy bands offer more substantive critiques.