Criticize presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, if you feel you must, but please do so in a rational way.   And please stick to something substantive.

The New York Times ran an article yesterday by city columnist Clyde Haberman in which the paper mused "Call Him an Oddball if You Must, but Do Call."   The essence of the article is to talk about how Giuliani is a flake who engages in what the author believes are loopy, flaky acts somewhat frequently.   Haberman focuses on Rudy's "weirdness factor," which Haberman says "has a long history," as defining the man at least as much as 9-11 did.   Giuliani's latest indiscretion?   A "bizarrely cutesy-poo" act of answering of his phone (his wife was calling) while in the middle of a speech to the NRA.

Presumably Clyde Haberman should be able to talk to Rudy's unfitness to be President since he is "an important journalist" in NYC.   He was in the city during all of Rudy's stints as mayor.   The problem is, he wasn't here before them.

Giuliani was NYC mayor from 1994 – 2001.   According to Haberman's columnist biography, he was in Tokyo from 1983 to 1988; Rome from 1988 to 1991; Jerusalem from 1991 to 1995; and back in the city in 1995.   NYC went from being just like any other city in America or anywhere else on the planet to one which was unliveable.   The city's finances were in shambles.   Problems were insurmountable, or at least that's why everybody said they were.   It needed fixing in so many areas its impossible to describe but there just wasn't enough money to address any of them.   It was truly a hopeless situation.

At the time leading up to Rudy's mayorship, I was employed in an office at 745 Fifth Avenue, the poshest part of town.   745 sits between 57th and 58th street.   The area is known for the Plaza Hotel, Tiffanys, and several other famous, upscale places.   My office looked out over Central Park.   It was a splendid view.   Yet we couldn't go outside after dark for fear of being mugged!   When workers stayed past 6 or 7 o'clock, the company paid for expensive car services to ensure the safety of its workers.   I recall intervi9ewing for my position in late 1992 and the folks who saw me made a point of telling me that although they worked long, late hours, I would not have to fear for my safety because of the availability of car services.   Even with that luxury, we made a practice of walking female employees out to the waiting cars because we didn't want anything to happen to them in the 15-20 feet of distance between the office door and the limousines!   It was a dangerous area!   On numerous occassions, prostitutes solicited me as I walked that 15-20 feet.   Reports of muggings, some violent, were common.   And darkness of noight was not the only time to be afraid.   I recall being jostled by several "youths" trying to pry my wallet from my posket on the subway at noon.   Everywhere you went in good ol' NYC, you were on alert because it was a rather unsafe place.

The city's state was beginning to drag on the economy.   Numerous businesses left.   I know this because my employer at the time worked with companies to find tax advantages during relocation.   Company after company which had been longstanding NYC residents picked up and left.   The city's crisis was deepening.   With significant fiscal deficits, the tax base was evaporating to make matters worse.   Yet there was no chance things would get better because there was barely enough money to keep the police happy, let alone hire additional patrolmen, or take new initiatives to bring things under control.   There was no way law and order could possibly be restored.

The city knew it couldn't re-elect David Dinkins since it was during his tenure that things had fallen apart.   But what could the electorate do?   They hadn't had a Republican mayor for 20 years leading up to that election.   The last Republican had been John Lindsay and he was at best a "liberal Republican" who switched to the Democrat party in midstream.   Before him, there was only Fiorello LaGuardia in the Great Depression through World War II years.   LaGuardia was perhaps only nominally a Republican since he was a staunch supporter of the "New Deal" and was extremely popular among Democrats, including FDR.   NYC just couldn't elect a Republican with fairly strong conservative roots, at least with respect to most issues relevant to the job.   NYC is as strong a Democrat outpost as any in the country, Tammany Hall and all that.   But elect a Republican they did.   That's how bad things were!

Giuliani won the election over Dinkins by a margin of 49% to 46%.   Everyone expected him to fail and Democrats to return to power with the next election.   After four years of the "flake," New Yorkers went to the polls and re-elected him 59% to 41%!   The reason NYC had no choice but to re-elect Rudy is things got that much better in just four years, even without resources, even with a Republican in office.   As hard as it is to imagine, the city was so converted by the Rudy experience, they subsequently elected another Republican candidate, Michael Bloomberg.   Bloomberg was nominally a Republican, having recently switched parties for the election, but his strongest attribute was an explicit endorsement by Rudy.   Bloomberg may be in most ways a liberal but he is a fiscal conservative who has continued Giuliani's law and order efforts and the city has benefitted as a result.

The New York Times' columist Clyde Haberman was not here when things were unliveable.   He came back in mid-Rudy.   But he's a liberal who does not want to even contemplate the possibility of another Republican in the office of the President.   He'll say almost anything to participate in the organized effort to bring down Rudy.   But he's wrong.   Rudy's NYC mayoral tenure is a testament to that.

Labels: liberal spin, Rudy Giuliani