Jan 23 2008
Rudy Drags Out 9/11… Again…
You gotta wonder if there is anything more to Rudy’s campaign than 9/11?
We get it Rudy. Really.
I hope you don’t run disaster aid in the United States. Judy would have an apartment meant for first responders and Bernard Kerik… Well…
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
I wish someone could provide me with a succinct analysis of what he DID during and after 9/11 that made him ‘America’s Mayor…’ Why does He tout his experience during 9/11 as such an enormous foreign policy credential? The guy didn’t actually DO anything! He did, however, neglect the real heroes of 9/11 by not keeping them safe from asbestos and other dangerous materials to which the rescuers and cleanup crews were exposed. What a fraud!
As I’m sure many New Yorkers realize, this guy is a bigger scumbag than our current President.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:42 am
O.K. We all know that the 911 thing with Rudy is a bit overblown, but it was the media, the mainstream media in particular who started that. He has just run with it. However, what Rudy did do during 911 was LEAD – period! Most of the time that’s all elected officials can do during a crisis, but few still do.
We all remember how Mayor Ray Nagin led during Katrina don’t we!
Rudy kept the city together at a time it could have turned into a powder keg. During a time where most of the police force and emergency services were crowded into lower Manhattan, there was little or no looting, little or no mob retaliation against Muslims, and little or no other problems that arise during a disaster.
Those of us who have lived in New York for any amount of time remember that this type of leadership was very rare among past NYC mayors. During blackouts, the city was usually ripe with looters and crimes of opportunity. In the early nineties Rudy’s predecessor David Dinkens let a mob run amok in a Brooklyn neighborhood (Crown Heights) for 3 days after a minority child was accidentally struck by a Jewish motorist.
During the 3 day riot, Jewish people were chased through the streets and beaten, Jewish homes were attacked and damaged, and a mob surrounded a Jewish student and beat and stabbed him to death!
What does this ugly piece of NYC history have to do with Rudy and 911? Again it goes back to leadership; the incidents described above would not and did not happen under Rudy’s watch.
As for blaming Rudy for the health problems of the rescue workers – that’s a huge stretch! If one wants to place any blame for that, it should be placed on the Bush administration. It was then EPA chairwoman Christine Todd Whitmann who certified that the air around ground zero was “safe”. What was Rudy supposed to do? In fact, Rudy wanted to stop or postpone the search until it could be established whether or not the air and the still smoldering ground was safe for the rescuers. It was the rescuers (firefighters in particular) who balked at such a thing and insisted on looking for their fallen comrades.
Finally, what are Rudy’s foreign policy credentials? I guess that’s a fair question when you also ask what are the foreign policy credentials of Barak Hussein Obama – John Edwards – Hillary Clinton - (besides her husband being president) Mike Huckabee – and Mitt Romney. By your standards, perhaps only John McCain can claim to have any foreign policy experience! His experience is also thin, he doesn’t have any experience as an executive, just as a legislator.
Rudy may not be the perfect candidate, the perfect republican, the perfect husband, or the perfect father. Yet - you can’t take away the fact that Rudy is a strong leader!
What’s the big deal about Rudy and 911? I don’t really know. I believe that in an ironic twist 911 may hurt him in the long run because people will forget his real accomplishments in turning a crime ridden financially broken city into a prospering and safe city. He also left the blueprints behind for all future mayors to use.