Giuliani's Plan - Lose the First Three Contests, But Win Florida

On a conference call with reporters on Monday, Giuliani's campaign manager Mike DuHaime (see photo) was explicit about a strategy that ignored the early contests, focusing on later prizes.

DuHaime confirmed the reliance on the Florida firewall when a reporter asked, "are you guys confident that you guys could perhaps go 0 in 3 out the gates and still be strong in Florida in February?"

He replied, "Yes, I am confident of that." He added, "We believe that whoever wins Florida will have a delegate count lead going into February 5."

ABC political commentator Mark Halperin had already identified Florida as the key battleground for the GOP nomination - something that DuHaime clearly also believes.