A Toned Down Rudy?

The New York Times noticed something that is subtly apparent with Presidential candidate Rudy. He is a lot calmer these days. Not his policies of course (or lack thereof), those are just as idiotic as ever. However his voice has changed considerably. Instead of acting like an arrogant asshole as he did as Mayor, he just says "9/11, 9/11, 9/11" now. The Times takes a look back at many of Rudy's memorable moments on his weekly radio show at WABC.

When Joe from Manhattan called in 1998 to complain about the city government giving special parking privileges to a white-shoe law firm, Mayor Giuliani emitted an audible groan into the microphone.

“Well, let me give you another view of that rather than the sort of Marxist class concept that you’re introducing,” Mr. Giuliani said.

When a National Rifle Association member opposed a ban on assault rifles in 1994, Mr. Giuliani really got annoyed.

“Now the reason why the N.R.A. has lost all credibility is statements like that,” he said. “By definition these are attack weapons. They are used for offense. It really is absolutely astounding that the N.R.A. continues to have influence in areas in which they make no sense at all.”

Basically he went after everyone and anyone. Now he is backtracking on his NRA statements and wholeheartedly endorsing them, assault rifles and all. The question is, where is the real, temperamental Rudy we all loved to hate? I sincerely doubt that massive ego in his head has let him change for the better. More likely it has gone underground with the advice of campaign consultants and the will to win next year.

I wonder what it'll take for America to see that famous temper?

The Air Of Ground Zero May Ultimately Choke Rudy

In the last five and a half years, Rudy Giuliani has profited enormously both financially and in stature from his stewardship of New York City during the terrible attacks of September 11th. The light shown on him from the press as it did for George Bush immediately following the tragedy. Since Bush has remained in the spotlight consistently until now, that surge in popularity has been erased and then some. Yet Rudy was mostly out of the picture until recently, so he kept up his favorable ratings.

Now that the harsh glare of the Presidential primary lens is upon him, the cracks in his veneer are beginning to show. "America's Mayor" is being called out by various groups affected by Rudy's leadership or lack thereof related to the aftermath of the terrorist attack. What is particularly dangerous to the candidate is how residents and rescue workers became ill from breathing the toxic air while Rudy did nothing about it.

From The New York Times:

An examination of Mr. Giuliani’s handling of the extraordinary recovery operation during his last months in office shows that he seized control and largely limited the influence of experienced federal agencies. In doing that, according to some experts and many of those who worked in the trade center’s ruins, Mr. Giuliani might have allowed his sense of purpose to trump caution in the rush to prove that his city was not crippled by the attack.

Administration documents and thousands of pages of legal testimony filed in a lawsuit against New York City, along with more than two dozen interviews with people involved in the events of the last four months of Mr. Giuliani’s administration, show that while the city had a safety plan for workers, it never meaningfully enforced federal requirements that those at the site wear respirators.

At the same time, the administration warned companies working on the pile that they would face penalties or be fired if work slowed. And according to public hearing transcripts and unpublished administration records, officials also on some occasions gave flawed public representations of the nature of the health threat, even as they privately worried about exposure to lawsuits by sickened workers.

The findings clearly show that Rudy cared more about making New York look pretty again to the detriment of those that cleaned up Ground Zero. Plenty of experts are ready to testify against Giuliani and his Administration for the way the situation was handled. There are also thousands of victims that can't breathe normally to this day. Some have even died as a result.

So if Rudy wants to run on an image that depicts him as tough on terror and a brave leader when faced with adversity, then he better be ready to pay the price when his demons come back to haunt him. His victims are ready to have their revenge on Rudy where it hurts him most. More importantly, with him being on such a stage, it might just set him up for a little bit of justice for the brave men and women that breathed the air of Lower Manhattan for far too long without the proper equipment.