The 'Buck' Stops Here: Voight Stumps for Rudy

Jan. 23, 2008— -- Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight inserted himself into presidential politics late last week when he hit the road in Florida to tout the candidacy of Rudy Giuliani.

"Rudy Giuliani represents strength, character, courage and clear thinking," Voight told ABC News aboard Giuliani's campaign bus as it rolled through the Sunshine State. "No thrills, just straight stuff you know? And that's what we need. He has proved everything, well, didn't he? Rudy Giuliani is one of those people who has this special gift of leadership."

In a wide-ranging one-on-one interview, Voight elaborated on his support for the former New York City mayor and expressed regret for his politics during the 1960s, Oprah Winfrey and the Democratic field.

The 'Buck' Stops Here

Voight, whose career was launched by the movie "Midnight Cowboy," said he felt compelled to campaign for Giuliani, primarily because of the former mayor's foreign policy.

"We're faced with this war against us. We want somebody strong, who knows what's going on, and who's not going to be played with. And somebody who also is gonna fix all the things that need to be fixed," said Voight.

"This is a guy who knows how to fix it. He has fixed it. He's already done it," he said. "We couldn't have a better candidate. I'm proud to be standing by his side. But really why I am here is to help it happen -- help him become president of the United States."

While it is not unusual for a Hollywood actor to hit the stump for a specific candidate, this is the 69-year-old actor's first public foray into politics. And he didn't always favor the Republican approach.

"In the '60s I was on the left side of things, and I regret it, by the way. I wasn't seeing things clearly. And it wasn't easy to see things clearly in the '60s because there was so much nonsense going on, you know?" said the actor.

"For reasons we knew not why, but for whatever reason, we thought it was patriotic to be against the government," he added. "You have to look back upon it and learn, not repeat the mistakes of the past but learn from them -- make sure that the future generations are not infected with the scars of that generation."

Battling Democrats and the 'O' Show

Here in Florida, Giuliani has been greeted by larger crowds than he drew in New Hampshire or Iowa, but the number of supporters are only a fraction of those Democrats like Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., have been able to draw.

We talked about this "phenomenon," as he described it, and Voight warned that people should not be fooled by Hollywood theatrics.

"There is a lot of entertainment value on the Democratic side at the moment. And it's entertainment. It's even painted as entertainment even in the debates," said Voight. "They have gotten a little more substantive but for such a long time it was really just a charade. I mean it was a show. The real work of government, the real questions weren't asked for a long time."

On the question of Oprah's campaigning for Obama, Voigt said, "There is nobody better than Oprah. I mean she is an amazing person. Look at what she's accomplished. But that is what she is good at. Gathering crowds and giving them an emotional feeling."

Change has been another major theme of this election cycle, but while there is always room for improvement, Voight said that there are certain changes the country does not need.

"I don't want to change the security records since 9/11," he said. "I don't want another terrorist attack on these shores. So I don't want that record changed."

"But what changes are they talking about? Talking about what we should change?" Voight said. "Well, we all need to improve things. There are lots of things to improve. There is a lot to improve in Washington. And that is something Rudy knows, just naturally, how to do."

But how exactly has the actor taken to convincing voters?

"Vote for Rudy because he is gonna keep America safe with his strength, his courage and his clear thinking," he told them. "He has got the right answers to the problems that exist today, and he will keep us safe into the future. … We can trust his words, and we can rely on his strength."

It's been a rough month for the candidate; though his focus is a big-state, Feb. 5 strategy, Giuliani has lost every single primary and caucus to date. His first major test comes Tuesday when Florida voters head to the polls for the Florida primary.