April 27, 2007
In the reporting and commenting on this, I read a number of people who pointed to Giuliani's experiences of 9/11 as giving him some special knowledge of terrorists and terrorism. I disagree with this granting of "absolute moral authority" on "America's Mayor."
I don't wish to detract or to in any way lessen what Giuliani did for New York and for the nation in the aftermath of 9/11. His leadership was heroic. When it seemed the world was literally crashing down around us, Rudy stood as rock of strength and provided a source of spiritual and emotional hope and comfort to millions.
But in all of that, what did Rudy do that had to do with terrorism and terrorists? Rudy was at best the highest ranking local First Responder. I don't believe this gives him any special insight into terrorists and how to deal with them.
But this you say is not really a paradox - it is if anything an example of conservative hypocrisy. And you're right. But there is more to Rudy's remarks that upset the Democrats. He said that the Democrats wanted to return to a 9/10 posture of defense when it comes to terrorism. That they want to do away with or weaken the Patriot Act, electronic and bank surveillance of suspected terrorists. Giuliani's disproves his own statement with his assertion that the Democrats want to eliminate or weaken our defense against terrorists.
And in this he is correct. The Democrats don't want to defend the nation against terrorism. They don't want to address the problem of terrorism at all. They want to deal with individual terrorist acts as unique and unrelated crimes, and terrorists as individual and unrelated criminals. They want to deal with terrorism after the fact. And that is Rudy's record.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 01:00 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Gotta disagree with you, there. I recall hearing or reading many news stories about Giuliani's anti-terrorism programs. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Rudy was well aware of the threat that terrorists posed to the city.
As I'm sure you'll recall, in the weeks leading up to New Year's Eve 2000, the mayor of Seattle cancelled all scheduled public celebrations. Rudy took great care in ensuring that Times Square was safe. He blocked off all traffic in something like a ten-block radius, and removed all the mailboxes in the area.
When asked by a reporter if, instead of all this preparation, he should just cancel New Year's in Times Square, Rudy said (quoting from memory):
"I can't speak for other mayors, or criticize their judgement about how to handle it in their cities. But this is New York. We expect two million people in Times Square on New Year's Eve and, if we cancel it, a million people or going to show up anyway. So this is something that we have to deal with and the best way to deal with it is with a plan. And so we have a plan."
And at midnight on New Years Eve 2000, when people so many feared a terrorist attack in Times Square, I watched the ball drop. The lever to start the ball dropping was pulled by none other than Rudy Giuliani -- grinning ear-to-ear. That night, not on 9-11, was when my respect for him as a born chief executive was solidified. How he handled 9-11 and it's aftermath didn't surprise me a bit. Though it was even more inspiring.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at April 27, 2007 04:24 PM (DNT0W)
Don't take any of this the wrong way. I like Giuliani. At this stage in the campaign I see him as the candidate I am most likely to support. I just prefer to look at who he is - not the mythology that seems to surround him.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at April 28, 2007 05:45 AM (Z3kjO)
Posted by: skh.pcola at April 28, 2007 12:08 PM (g0BDb)
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