If Giuliani is the Republican nominee, it will be easier for the Democrats to do this because he will not only alienate these voters on social issues, he will also alienate them because of his positioning on the Iraq War, which is the most easily caricatured of all the Republicans.

In the final days of a general election campaign in which Giuliani is the Republican nominee, you would likely see Democratic ads featuring a clip from the New Hampshire Republican debate on June 5, when Giuliani was asked whether "knowing what you know right now" he still believed it was a good decision to invade Iraq. Giuliani said it was "absolutely the right thing to do."

So, how can Democrats lose?

First, rather than nominate Giuliani, Republicans unite behind a candidate who can persuasively articulate a comprehensive conservative vision: for limited government, economic liberty, cultural traditionalism and an energetic -- but not rash -- foreign policy aimed at defending the United States at a time when Islamic terrorism poses the greatest threat to our security.

Secondly, the trend toward greater security in Iraq, which Gen. David Petraeus testified to last week, continues, while at least some political progress is made in Baghdad, allowing the conservative candidate to plausibly defend maintaining a U.S. presence in that country, while forcing the Democratic candidate to explain why the withdrawal being advocated by that party will not lead to a humanitarian and security catastrophe that will haunt us for decades.

Finally, the Democratic candidate will inadvertently cooperate with the Republican strategy by fooling herself into believing that the advantage her party has because of the Iraq War and national weariness with the Bush administration can be translated into a domestic mandate for the entire left-wing Baby Boom agenda.

She will even advocate socialized medicine.

In that scenario, a nightmare may be averted. Just enough people might go to the polls next November nursing one conviction that trumps all others: There's no way they would vote for Hillary Clinton.