Repeated References to Rudy Giuliani

[matt819]

Why does everyone simply assume that if only Rudy Giuliani were on the scene, all would be well? Sure, he seemed to be pretty much Johnny on the spot in NY, but as tragic as the fall of the WTC was, it was far more contained than the devastation in New Orleans, Mississippi, etc. Roads and bridges were not washed out, so rescue personnel were able to access the site. Food and water was not a problem. Apart from those killed and injured, thousands were not displaced from their homes, since this was a business center. Those who survived the impact may have had to walk out of the city, but they had homes to go to. The corporations affected by the attack had the resources - financial, professional, etc. -- as well as the motivation -- survival, commitment to employees -- to return to action as quickly as possible, even if they had to do so outside of NYC.

So, yes. I'm tired of this lionizing of Giuliani. I'm not saying a Giuliani-type leader would be a bad thing. I'm just fed up with what I believe is a fallacious assumption. The two incidents were/are devastating, and their impact will long be felt in American society, but they were not identical, and the leader of one might not necessarily be ideal in other situations.

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Mostly it's from John Sullivan

He also helped coordinate the riot on the Miami/Dade votinf office in 2000 that shut down vote counting. He's a major GOP thug.

--p!

[ClassWarrior]

2. Not to mention the fact IT WAS HIS OWN FRIGGIN CITY.

NGU.

[NashVegas]

3. Not Rudy, Specifically

But because he gave people a sterling example of what leadership looks like.

It's impossible not to contrast his example on 9/11 with everyone else's failure to kick ass this past week.

[fluffernutter]

5. It helped that he had * behind him from minute one as well.

[NashVegas]

10. * Had an Enemy to Look Tough For

and anyways, no, Rudy did not have Bush behind him from the first minute. Bush was hiding all day.

[mzmolly]

4. Because they want to run him in 2008.

That's why.

[noahmijo]

7. An Italian Catholic for president?

who is pro choice and pro gun control?

Oh yea Rudy's got amazing odds of winning over the southern states!!

[undeterred]

6. Giuliani probably knew what was coming

and it was a more limited disaster, horrible though it was. People in the area could run away, in New Orleans it was much harder.

[RagAss]

Rudy dealt with a horrible situation...no argument.

and he did so in an admirable way.

But when you break it down. Rudy had no rescues or survivors......
....you either walked out and went home that day....or died....

[demo dutch]

8. Say it aint true! That is a terrible match. Noone downthere will want

a bossy neo-con from NY who sucks up to Bushco to tell them how to rebuild their beautiful Southern city. Sorry...
Besides I would think that the people from New Orleans should have some input on this one!

[dogman]

9. There is no comparison.

NYC had a number of bridges intact and the surrounding state was not devastated. They had communication and outside support was immediate. Obviously the NYC was tragic but not on a comparable scale. The surrounding infrastructure was still intact.

[TomInTib]

11. At this point he is their last, desperate hope

And all he really did 09/01 was try to extend his term past its deadline.
Nobody ever mentions that little stunt.

[stillcool]

12. apples and oranges...

but thats what they do. Throw mud until something sticks, and offer up their new and improved version.

[aquart]

13. Rudy took a licking and kept on ticking.

A building fell on him. People he had been talking to 15 minutes ago were dead. It was the same year he'd had cancer and a divorce. He was in shock like the rest of us, but his turned him into roboMayor, he could not stop getting the job done.

He's a schmuck and a jerk and I disagree with him on most things, but he was there for us. AND HE WAS OUR LEADER. Giuliani was the man who told us we weren't going after the Muslims in our midst. And how many dead it might horribly be. And that the right thing to do was to go to the funerals of the men who ran into buildings as we ran out. HE WAS ONE OF US.

And he set the example for our behavior during that time. We kept going.

I wouldn't vote for him. But when it counted, he was a leader. Which is why Bush wouldn't appoint him to make coffee. Giuliani totally outshone our missing-in-action president. Bush will never give him another chance to do that.

[Princess Turandot]

18. Plus he kept full scale panic from ensuing..

remember that at 10AM on 9/11/2001, no one knew what the hell had happened or might happen in the upcoming hours. There were several other buildings abt to collapse. One of 2 major rail systems to NJ was blocked off. Lower Manhattan lost power & phone service. Sure we had tunnels/highways/bridges (several of which could not be gotten to because of an astonishing amount of debris that the demolition of several enormous building generates or could not be known to be safe given their proximity to the WTC explosion) but what would have happened if everyone in NYC freaked out and tried to leave by any means possible? Millions of people? Forget stealing cars: people might've tried to hijack Amtrak trains. Giuliani kept the panic from slipping in after the shock. If that had not happened, NYC might look like the set of "Escape from New York" these days.

I have no idea whether Giuliani could be of any help to NOLA.
But I don't think anyone could have done a better job than he did
on 9-11 in NYC, and it had nothing to do with Bush having his back,
given that he was somewhere over Nebraska most of the day. And if I remember correctly, NYC had no luck getting to the Whitehouse on the phone on 9-11.

[Corgigal]

20. Rudy was there for NYC

and since we had no federal response that morning by proxy he became there for all of us.

Rudy is a New Yorker. He loved his city. He doesn't get New Orleans so I don't understand why they think he would be any good. Nagin is fine, as long as the fed show up.

[VOX]

23. And Rudy didn't hesitate to capitalize on this image at the '04 RNC...

Maybe he's appreciated by New Yorkers, but outside of that sphere of influence, he comes off as another opportunistic, self-serving Republican, who will (whether he did a "good job" in leading NYC after 9/11, or not) remain ultimately true to his party line, above all else.

[Cocoa]

14. Rudy "blame the troops" Giuliani

don't blame Bush, blame the troops...

http://homepage.mac.com/njenson/movies/blametroops.html

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. Yes. THAT Giuliani!

:rofl:


So much dirt. So little time.

[enid602]

15. Rudy

Rudy's town and region was not utterly destroyed during 9/11? What's even left of the NO and LA gov'ts in terms of manpower and infrastructure. The repuke's blame put on city and state is unconscionable.

[Lefty48197]

17. I think Rudy mostly did photo ops after 911.

Maybe he did give some direction in managing the crisis, but I don't think you have to be a genius to do that. Obviously, Bush has proven that being an idiot prevents you from managing a crisis at all.

[aquart]

22. Not a genius. A leader.

But remember, we had television and cell phones until the towers fell. Our landline phones never quit at all. We had communication.

After the towers fell, we had CBS. ABC came in on some other channel for a while...it was over six weeks before all the channels finally came back for non-cable viewers like me. Cell phones were back much faster, I think.

We had electricity and a way to know what was happening. NOLA didn't.

[leetrisck]

19. I'll take Jamie Lee Witt any day and now Gov Blanco

has him.

[applegrove]

21. Bush did something for Rudy he didn't do for Mayor of NO. HE ANSWERED THE

PHONE. HE LISTENED. HE ACTED.