7 Responses

1. Rodney

   January 4th, 2008 at 2:51 pm

   1

   Without commenting on my own politics, or taking issue with your bottom line - that 9/11 is Giuliani’s only card right now…

   I have to disagree respectfully with the implied answer (”no”) to your question, “Does being mayor of a city for 8 years really make him qualified to be our foreign policy/national defense savior…?”

   Rudy’s work with the NYPD, particularly in standing up its intelligence capability, has made the City one of the most secure in the world, especially given the number of people who live there and who travel there.

   Also, look at the steady decrease of crime rates under his leadership.

   Being Mayor of New York is not like being mayor of Des Moines. It is no ordinary city. If NYC were a country, its economy would be one of the world’s top 20 largest.

2. surya.yalamanchili

   January 4th, 2008 at 3:09 pm

   2

   Aah…I wondered what your reaction would be : )

   I agree with you that NYC is no ordinary city, and if any mayorship qualified you for higher office, it would have to be NYC. However, as you know, there’s a divide in opinion on how much credit is Giuliani’s for the massive change in NYC. There are at least two other major factors at play– one Bratton (as you know, since I believe he’s your commissioner now) and two, the massive economic turnaround that I say likely would have happened in NYC anyway. Now the trick is it’s hard to separate out whether or not the economic boom would have happened w/o a turnaround in safety, etc.

   You are obviously better qualified to say how the work of NYC w/the IC went through his years, but overall, after reading a few pro/con books and articles on Giuliani’s tenure, I’m not a big fan.

   Having said that, me not being a massive fan of Giuliani (though I believe he was, on balance, a very good mayor) the NYC mayor, that’s not what sparks this outlier of a post. I hate to post on politics on this blog. For much the same reason you don’t wish to get into your own politic positions. But this commercial struck me as surreal, and went to the base of my problem w/his candidacy (BTW, his is the only candidacy I strongly oppose)– he seems to have placed himself to the Right of the current administration. As I look at his advisors (a who’s who of Neoconservatives), listen to his speeches (they are coming to get us!!!), and watch this commercial, I’m horrified. Any one who uses fear instead of logic troubles me.

   Which brings me to my fundamental problem w/Giuliani and this ad. Why is he the right man to confront the threats he outlines and extolls? Because he was a mayor? Again, I reject the premise. These threats need to be addressed by someone with a wealth of foreign policy credentials and experience. That raises the natural question of whether any of the current candidates boast this resume. I’ll leave that for others to debate, but I’ll say that they’re not running this commercial and running as that candidate.

   Bringing this home….If I was still making commercials at a packaged goods company: This ad was all about the problem (tough stains, etc). Then at the end, the product was introduced as the solution (Tide, etc). But there is no explanation at all as to what reasons you should believe that the product can solve the problem. And I’m taking it the next step and saying the reason it’s not there is because those reasons don’t exist.

   (not proofread as today is a crazy day)

3. Rodney

   January 7th, 2008 at 12:10 am

   3

   Surya, great points all, and no real disagreement here, given that the point of the original post was to take issue with Giuliani’s campaign strategy and particularly this commercial.

   There is at least one great YouTube mash-up of Giuliani and other Republican candidates’ speeches in which the only dialogue is the phrase “9/11.”

   So…I take your point explicitly.’

   Now, I don’t think we can or should…as American voters…avoid the question of whether any of the current candidates boast the experience needed to get us out of this foreign policy/national security mix. Perhaps Bill Richardson might, for the Dems, and maybe McCain for the Republicans.

   In the end who knows? I think what is most important is that we elect a leader who displays real leadership skills, who appoints the best to his or her cabinet, who listens to their advice, who is decisive, and is honest and accountable for decisions, and who is not afraid to change course if the evidence shows a course correction is needed. You don’t have to have a PhD in International Relations for that. Arguably, there have been many so-called foreign policy experts out there who look good on paper but who were horrible when it came to actual policy.

4. Aaron Steinberg

   January 11th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

   4

   people like rudy are destroying americas name around the world.

5. Kman

   January 16th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

   5

   Dude, I got your link because you are speaking to MBA students at my school and I wanted to check you out. I don’t think I’ll go to your presentation. Why? I’m not a Rudy fan, although I’ll take him over any Democrat hands down. However, you lambast him as unfit because of his mere 8 years experience as mayor of NYC. Then you promote Obama as the best thing since Gore invented the internet. You have made a fool of yourself as your logic is at the 1st grade level. What, pray tell, has Obama done that qualifies him? Hmmm? Sit in a seat in congress for a few years? WOW!! We should get him to run the biggest corporation in the entire world! Please, please, just use the brain the dear Lord gave you.

6. surya.yalamanchili

   January 16th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

   6

   @Kman:

   Dude, get a grip.

   You: Dude, I got your link because you are speaking to MBA students at
   my school and I wanted to check you out. I don’t think I’ll go to your
   presentation. Why?

   Me: I missed you tremendously.

   You: I’m not a Rudy fan, although I’ll take him over any Democrat
   hands down. However, you lambast him as unfit because of his mere 8
   years experience as mayor of NYC.

   Me: Please actually read what I write before freaking out. I call him unfit to be our foreign policy savior due to his mayoral experience. There’s a
   difference. Being a mayor and working on foreign relations? Two different things as it turns out.

   You: Then you promote Obama as the best thing since Gore invented the
   internet. You have made a fool of yourself as your logic is at the 1st
   grade level. What, pray tell, has Obama done that qualifies him? Hmmm?
   Sit in a seat in congress for a few years? WOW!! We should get him to
   run the biggest corporation in the entire world! Please, please, just
   use the brain the dear Lord gave you.

   At this point, when I read your email I see some 4 year old with the
   intelligence of a 2 year old. I promoted Obama? I never once said a
   positive thing about Obama. But then again, I think you’re likely
   delusional. I posted an article about him. So please breathe before sending emails.

   I’m pretty shocked that you’re a student at U of M. It’s a pretty
   impressive school, and you…

   Have a good life.
   surya

7. Douglas Brown

   January 24th, 2008 at 5:28 pm

   7

   LOL - yeah politics sure brings out the passion (although maybe not the logic) in people

   IMHO - the commercial will guarantee that Rudy will not win - especially if that is his only platform. If he is in touch with the majority of Americans then we are in worse trouble than I thought