Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign (R) has tapped Bob Holste to be national coalitions director. [IMGCAP(1)]

Holste has been chief of staff to Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) since 1995. In the 2002 and 2004 cycles he took a leave of absence and worked in the incumbent retention division of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“We are excited to have Bob Holste join Team Rudy and direct our national coalition efforts,” National Political Director Mark Campbell said in a statement. “Bob has over 20 years of campaign and outreach experience and he is a valued addition to our team.”

Campbell was a strategist involved with the re-election effort of another Pennsylvania Member, Rep. Jim Gerlach (R), in 2006.

The People’sSpace. If you don’t see enough of the presidential contenders on television over the summer, get online in the fall. MySpace, the News Corp.-owned social networking Web site, is planning a September kickoff for a series of online town hall meetings with the candidates.

The events, each about an hour long, will be staged on college campuses. A couple hundred MySpace users will question the White House hopefuls in person, with countless more lobbing their queries in via instant message.

“It will be everything from Iraq policy and education to boxers or briefs,” said Jeff Berman, a spokesman for the site. “There’s an enormous desire for authenticity, and it’s very hard to get to know a candidate when they’re on stage with nine other people.”

Already committed to the sessions are the three Democratic and three Republican frontrunners, plus five other contenders.

— Lauren W. Whittington and Tory Newmyer