Rudy
This is where I met Rudy Giuliani on November 11, 2001, at Ground Zero. I’m somewhere in the lower right, I think. The occasion was a tribute to all the nations who lost citizens on September 11, something like 92 as I recall. The Secretary General of the UN was there, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, numerous ambassadors, New York’s two senators, including her, the Governor and the President of the United States.
We were the receiving line. They came to shake our hands.
President Bush was most gracious and took his time with everyone, as did Governor Pataki. Rudy followed, friendly, relaxed and considerate. He signed my hardhat, right where I wanted: over a photo-sticker of those guys raising the flag. It remains one of my proudest possessions.
Whether I end up voting for Rudy or not, I have long been a fan, going back to his days as District Attorney in Queens. Better never try to tell him that something can’t be done. He took on the Mafia, for crying out loud.
I remember New York City before Giuliani. He changed it utterly. Today it is one of my very favorite places to visit. Those who pooh-pooh his involvement and deny him the credit he is due are self-delusioned idiots.
Oh, he’s done some things to annoy the hell out of me from time to time. He’s that kind of guy, after all. He never seemed particularly interested in advancing the Republican Party beyond himself in New York City, but then there weren’t too many elected Republicans in city government once you got past the mayor.
I sure wish he was truer to his church’s teachings on life issues. I don’t think, though, that I imagined the twinkle in his eye at Cardinal O’Connor’s funeral when Cardinal Law praised O’Connor’s defense of human life from conception to natural death, a remark which caused a thunderous standing ovation which Rudy joined in way ahead of the squirming Clintons in front of him.
But he hasn’t been good on that issue, and that means a lot to me. Of course, his duty as president would only rarely coincide with life issues, and then primarily in the selection of judges, and on that score I like the kind of judges he likes, and I trust his sincerity in that regard. So as far as that goes he is not a typical liberal Republican, certainly not in the mold of Rockefeller or Lindsay or Gerald R. Ford.
On economics and trade and defense and foreign policy, he’s pretty dead on with conservative principles. On immigration, a bit all over the lot. As are most of the candidates.
He’s articulate and a proven leader. He eclipsed every politician in America after 9/11. His calm, steady hand at the helm kept us together, and not only kept his city from falling apart, but brought it back to life.
He may not end up being my first choice, but there is a whole lot that I like, and if he makes it through the nomination process I will have no trouble in the slightest pulling his lever.
He may not be the guy you want on the news every night for four or eight years, but if there is a crisis, there’s no man in America I would feel safer with.
