Academic

The Truth About Rudy Giuliani

By Robert Justin Lipkin

It's difficult to see how American citizens can be duped by Mayor Giuliani, a charlatan and a dictator wannabe in his successful, but duplicitous attempts to garner praise for his "heroic" to 9-11. What precisely did Giuliani do on 9-11 to warrant such fulsome praise? Run into burning buildings to save lives? Directed the attempt to save further devastation? No, Giuliani walked down the streets with his entourage, greeting New Yorkers, and surveying  the damage, all the while making sure his presence was conspicuous. Check out the New York Times assessment: "Why, as a New York-based paper, are we not backing Rudolph Giuliani? Why not choose the man we endorsed for re-election in 1997 after a first term in which he showed that a dirty, dangerous, supposedly ungovernable city could become clean, safe and orderly? What about the man who stood fast on Sept. 11, when others, including President Bush, went AWOL?  . . . That man is not running for president.  . . . The real Mr. Giuliani, whom many New Yorkers came to know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police power. Racial polarization was as much a legacy of his tenure as the rebirth of Times Square.  . . . Mr. Giuliani's arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking. When he claims fiscal prudence, we remember how he ran through surpluses without a thought to the inevitable downturn and bequeathed huge deficits to his successor. He fired Police Commissioner William Bratton, the architect of the drop in crime, because he couldn't share the limelight. He later gave the job to Bernard Kerik, who has now been indicted on fraud and corruption charges.  . . .  The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city's and the country's nightmare to promote his presidential campaign." (Emphasis) To read further click here.

Why last night, even Senator McCain interrupted the debate to offer his fulsome praise of Giuliani as a "hero." Just what did the Mayor do to even suggest such praise? Even the above Times' editorial characterizes Giuliani as standing fast on 9-11. But what does that mean? Wouldn't any New York Mayor have stood fast in these harrowing circumstances? What choice would he have?  I lived in New York for 27 years. None of the Mayors serving during that time would have acted any less "courageously" than Mr. Giuliani. What difference can a Mayor make in such a catastrophic event as 9-11? But Giuliani, with fulsome media support, has fashioned himself to be "the hero of 9-11." Reflect on what that means and who it excludes. Mayor Giuliani is an uncomplicated fraud. What's so troubling is that so many Americans bought his act--even the otherwise astute New York Times' editorial board and Senator McCain among a vast array of others. Why people are frightened to tell the truth about 9-11 and a Mayor whose failures in preparing for such an emergency are legion?  Such intimidation creates a snowball effect. Each time someone's praises the "heroic" Giuliani the snowball gets bigger and firmer. There were real heroes on 9-11, to be sure. Among many others, were the gallant, dedicated men and women of New York's fire department who gave their lives to defend New York. Their memory is sullied every time someone perfunctorily refers to Mayor Giuliani as a hero.

Full post as published by Essentially Contested America on January 25, 2008 (boomark / email).