Rudy Runs the Rapids
His second term was more difficult. He was harsh in confronting his political enemies and his critics—especially in the media. He had little feel for race relations. He exhibited a gratuitous meanness and combativeness. He was reluctant to share credit. Combined with his stormy personal lifestyle, his marriage and messy public divorce, and the economic downturn in the city because of the dot-com collapse, he was by September 10 all but written off as a political figure. Which made his emergence after 9/11 all the more striking.
While President Bush was reading a children's story and Dick Cheney was disappearing into a bunker, Giuliani went into harm's way, breathing the toxic air with the rescuers. In the face of a barbarity, he demonstrated the essential resolve and moral indignation the city and nation cried out for. It was Giuliani, not Bush, who emerged as the public official in command. That night he heralded his city's indomitable spirit: "New York is still here. We have undergone tremendous losses, and we are going to grieve for them horribly. But New York is going to be here tomorrow morning, and it's going to be here forever."
Spirituality. There was to be no collapse into bitterness and despair. Working 16 hours a day, appearing everywhere in the city, attending virtually every funeral, especially for members of the uniformed services, he gave backbone to the country with his presence and eloquence. "The number of casualties," he memorably said, "will be more than any of us can bear."
When Americans look back on 9/11, the most significant public event of most of their lives, they will forever think of Giuliani walking through the ashes and soot. He was honest, sad, and strong. He captured the spirituality of America. Now when he talks about 9/11, he is greeted more as a celebrity than a candidate, and he's asked in almost reverential tones about his response to the attacks.
The Iraq war has not yet produced its Pattons, its MacArthurs, its Eisenhowers. In the war on terrorism, Giuliani, even more than the president, has become a symbol of America's determination to fight terrorism and protect our way of life. Viewed by millions as a strong commander, Giuliani has been as blunt as George Patton: "We're going to be in this war for quite some time. Not by our choosing but by theirs."
Odds are it will not be the views on the issues that will vault a candidate into the White House. It will be how American voters assess the candidate's ability to respond to emergency. That is how George Bush beat John Kerry in 2004: Kerry had a better grasp of every policy issue, but he was not convincing on security. The security test is one that Giuliani is seen to have passed with flying colors—and another attack, heaven forbid, will drive the point home.
The unresolved question is whether the obverse side of these qualities will work against him in the stresses of a long campaign. The New York culture may be comfortable with Giuliani's abrasiveness—how they cheered when he evicted Yasser Arafat from the city's 50th birthday concert for the U.N.!
advertisement