INSIDE REPORT

ROBERT NOVAK RUDY'S COUP

WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani scored a hit with conservative activists by getting ahead of his Republican presidential competitors in blasting Sen. Hillary Clinton for not denouncing MoveOn.org's attack on Gen. David Petraeus.

Giuliani caught the spirit of Republican rage over the left-wing MoveOn.org's full-page ad in The New York Times. On the day Petraeus presented his report on Iraq, the ad demeaned him as "General Betray Us." Giuliani asked: "Who should America listen to - a decorated soldier's commitment to defending America, or Hillary Clinton's commitment to defending MoveOn.org?"

Washington-based conservatives this week voiced approval that Giuliani was hitting Clinton instead of other Republican presidential hopefuls.

DOLLARS FOR FRED

Republican campaign donors who have been bombarded for two years with appeals for funds from Republican presidential candidates on Thursday received their first direct mail plea from Fred Thompson, who asked for a contribution ranging from $35 to $2,300.

Thompson's personalized letter asserts that "as long as our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have hope and optimism, we should too" but does not take a position on President Bush's war policy. Rejecting Bush's stand on immigration, Thompson says: "We cannot effectively solve our problem with legal immigration until our borders are secured." The letter quotes Ronald Reagan but does not mention George W. Bush.

A footnote: Thompson's bid for the evangelical right suffered a setback Wednesday when social conservative leader James Dobson said he could not support Thompson, contending he has "no passion, no zeal." Thompson's agents encountered a cool reception at a gathering of conservatives this week who were high on Rudy Giuliani.