GIULIANI TIME....

I'm intrigued by the polls results that show former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani leading other potential Republican Party candidates (http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1594847,00.html), including Arizona Senator John McCain. With almost a year to go before serious primaries and caucuses take place, no potential candidate has yet undergone the more serious scrutiny that evolves, or should evolve during the course of a campaign. Right now poll results are based solely on impressions not policies, so the poll horse race really is about who gives voters the warm fuzzies.

Giuliani's popularity across America is primarily based on two factors. He is perceived as being the Mayor who drove crime out of New York City and, more important, he is perceived a being a hero in the aftermath of September 11th. The first impression is flawed, the second is tainted, and his overall record should be examined closely.

Giuliani first came to prominence as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He made his mark in arresting numerous Wall Streeters for alleged financial shenanigans and having them "perp-walked" out of their offices in handcuffs. These alleged criminals were tried and convicted as a result of Mr. Giuliani's efforts, which earned him page one raves. What got buried deep inside the newspapers was that almost all of these convictions were overturned on appeal.

It's true that crime did go down during Giuliani's two terms in office. What is also true is that during the prior decade New York City was in financial crisis which caused the city to lay off many police officers. It was Giuliani's predecessor, the otherwise ineffective David Dinkins, who set into motion the process for the expansion of the police force which took place under Giuliani's watch. Giuliani's appointment of Bostonian Bill Bratton as Police Commissioner was a master-stroke as Bratton and his staff implement the now much copied Compstat program which targeted criminals and high-crime areas. Crime went down, the economy rose and more police enforced the laws. But the popular and press-savvy Bratton received more time on the front pages than Giuliani's ego would allow, and Bratton left the position under tremendous pressure from City Hall. He is now top cop in Los Angeles.

Rudy was known as a bully. Were there any small fry he could push around to get a cheap headline? Cabbies and street vendors felt his wrath. So did artists whose art offended him. When the Brooklyn Museum mounted a show that contained a painting by an African artist that showed the Madonna decorated with elephant dung, he threatened to defund the otherwise excellent museum. There was no disagreeing with Rudy's tastes in art, or many other things. If he liked it, it was art, and if he didn't, it was sacrilege that he would obliterate as an avenging angel.

Corruption scandals large and small were unearthed in the waning days of his administration. If a law suited him he would enforce it, and if it didn't he would get around it. Illegally release the sealed juvenile records of a man killed by the police? No problem. Appoint unqualified political hacks like Bernard Kerick and Ray Harding to jobs? .No problem. Appoint an alleged former mistress to a job without any apparent qualifications. No Problem. Browbeat people who disagreed with him? No problem. Try to have the law changed so that the Public Advocate, an elected official and next in line to succeed the mayor would be passed over in favor of Rudy's appointed deputy mayor. No Problem. No wonder former mayor Ed Koch titled his book on Giuliani, "Nasty Man."

Tuesday, September 11th was the kind of New York autumn morning that songs are written about. The sky was a crystal clear cerulean. The sun was warm. The light made everything stand out clearly. It felt clean. People were talking about the Giants loss to Denver the night before or the primary elections that were taking place that day. Then murder rained down and the world turned concrete grey.

In the immediate aftermath, Rudy was perfect. He struck the perfect notes when little was known and when too much was known. Always a favorite with the cops and firemen, he attended funeral after funeral for the fallen. He was mayor for eight years, but he was a great mayor for eight weeks.

Still, so close to tragedy, Giuliani's ego knew no bounds. An election for mayor was scheduled for that November, with a new administration due to take office in January, 2002. Giuliani had already been elected to two terms in office and term limits legislation prevented him from running again, so he threw his weight behind Democrat conveniently turned Republican Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg, a billionaire, spared no expense in winning the election against the bombastic and pedagogic Democrat, Mark Green. Giuliani, through his minions, tried to extend his term beyond the legal limits with a claim that the crisis needed his presence. The people needed him. He was irreplaceable! Damn! He should be king!

But the real crisis was three months past and cooler heads prevailed. An orderly change of government took place on schedule, and the city didn't collapse.

As mayor, Giuliani was a great police commissioner.