Big Apple Flavor at the Florida Deli

This primary will be Skolnick's first time voting, and truth be told, he likes McCain, too, but "Rudy is Rudy, and I'm gonna root for him to the end." And he can tell from the former mayor's sinking poll numbers that Rudy needs his help.

The customer sitting nearby, a Democrat who used to live in Manhattan, keeps quiet, eats his grits and eggs.

"He's got a past, Rudy," Skolnick says. "That's a concern. But he's shown he could turn a country around."

Later, at a rally at the nearby Embassy Suites Hotel, Giuliani will try to project an impression that's all boldness and action. You want turning a country around? He'll show you turning a country around! He will say how important it is to "be bold, be strong, be aggressive" in the face of economic trouble. He will say, "I propose the largest tax cut in American history," and "The only way to deal with Islamic terrorism is to be on offense!"

Afterward, he is mobbed by people wanting autographs on their photographs and baseball caps, two of whom are planning on selling the newly autographed items on eBay. They won't give their names.

These could go for $100 each if Rudy comes in first in Florida, says one of the guys, who's holding three baseball caps. Otherwise, maybe $30 each.

Back at Flakowitz's, the folks at the counter mull a former mayor's fate.

"So if Giuliani loses here, is it over?" asks a fellow from Huntingdon Valley, Pa., named Elliott Silverman, 58, who is leaning toward McCain. And by over, he means over for Giuliani. Poof. That's it. No more campaign.

"Um?" says Zelniker, absent-mindedly.

"It's over," says Silverman, answering his own question.