The former mayor of New York City was the headline speaker on the first night of the Republican National Convention, held conveniently in the Big Apple. The man referred to as “America’s Mayor” following the events of 9/11 gave a fire and brimstone speech that painted a picture of our current president as a noble leader in the face of danger. To be sure, Mr. Giuliani also managed to portray himself as a great leader as well. This is not new, for anyone who is from New York, they know that Rudy is both an adept politician and media master when called upon. In fact, it was predictable that when he finished his speech, the various talking heads began commenting on a possible presidential run in 2008. If that is to be the case, I think it necessary for people to get the full story on him, rather than just the snippets they are being fed.
9/11 is the best thing that ever happened to Rudy Giuliani. Prior to that day, Giuliani was simply the Mayor of New York, no small job, but on the national level not huge either. He managed to help decrease crime in the city, oversaw the makeover of Time’s Square from a den of lust and crime to the Disney-fied version it is today. In all, he helped move New York City forward, to get away from the stigma of being the big bad city and a friendlier place. On the surface, it was a pretty picture. But underneath, a totally different story.
He helped reduce crime. First as the District Attorney for the United States taking on organized crime with great results, then in the Mayor’s office, where it seems he conveniently misplaced his book regarding human rights. While the Police Officers were stamping out crime on Rudy’s watch, they were also shooting unarmed immigrants. They were also sexually assaulting prisoners. They were engaging in cover-ups, the complete disregard for human decency. Additionally, the homeless magically began disappearing. Where they went? Who knows? But there were less and less of them. For a while not many people minded. But then the more scandals that arose the more people realized that Rudy was giving his police force a free pass to do whatever they wanted. All of sudden those rosy crime statistics didn’t look too rosy anymore.
Prior to 9/11, the biggest story involving Giuliani were his romantic escapades. He wound cheating on his wife, giving his mistress/now wife city-funded security and generally acting like some 20-year-old playboy instead of a Mayor. Plus, these stories about his affairs were all over the papers, meaning his son Michael was free to read them. Wow, what a great dad huh? Way to look out for child’s interests. What are you left with, is a Mayor with no control over his police force of his sexual desires. Not that admirable huh? But all that changed.
To say he rose to the occasion on 9/11 is not false, however, I believe that whomever was in office at the time would have done the same. It’s very similar to how people can claim that a presidential candidate is “soft on terror.” No one in their right minds is soft on terror, it’s just a political speak item that is used to drum up fears in voters. The same applies to Rudy’s actions on that fateful day. Are we really supposed to believe that if it were any other mayor, they would be cowering in some hidden location, indecisive about what to do, and wasting precious time? Of course not, only our President does that. No, they would have been down there at Ground Zero as well, doing everything Giuliani did. I truly believe that. But instead we got the “Rudy as the Hero” story, and it has grown so large that he finds himself speaking at the RNC and fielding questions about a Presidential run. Allow to squash that notion right away, because I don’t care how many people were cheering for him last night, no conservative voter from Wyoming, Montana or the other heartland states is voting for a guy named Rudy Giuliani, and eye-talian from New York City. We are not that open minded when it comes to cultures yet, and I don’t see it happening in the near future either.
I think what bothers me the most about Giuliani and his speech and the role he has adopted is that if the roles were reversed, and he was a Democrat going speaking out against the President, his experience could be played just the same way. Rather than talking about the leadership shown by he AND the President on 9/11, he would be saying he showed leadership while the President did not. It all fits to perfectly for my tastes. The truest sign of something being completely dishonest is how you can change some minor details and have it work it multiple ways. The truth has too many different parts and pieces to make it so interchangeable.
Rudy Giuliani is the classic example of a media created hero who is currently acing his role. He played big on the East Coast, and last night was his attempt to go National. Only time will tell what the overall reviews will be.
