Giuliani was a great mayor because he had the most important gift of great leadership: the ability to cut through all the crap and identify a single, simple, but overpoweringly important objective--and to remain focused on it despite every distraction and provocation:

Every mayor of NYC understood that crime-and-grime were important, and some tried to address it. Giuliani, alone, understood the underlying issue: the perception that the city was ungovernable and out of control. The average NYer or visitor was unlikely to be murdered, beaten, robbed, raped or mugged on any given day. But, they were very likely to encounter other signs of lawlessness: turnstile-jumpers, three-card monte players, low-level drug dealers, radio-blasters, litterers, aggressive panhandling, etc. Giuliani went after those "quality of life" crimes aggressively, and demanded that everyone around him stay focused on them, not just the police.

Not surprisingly, Giuliani's focus resulted not only in the city becoming cleaner and more civil, but in a large number of arrests for felonies, and a lower crime rate. Turned out that a large percentage of people ticketed or arrested for "minor" crimes had outstanding warrants for felonies. In one case, a guy who brutally murdered an Upper East Side woman in her cleaning store was nabbed because he had a warrant for turnstile-jumping. In another case: a young woman was attacked and almost killed on a busy street corner by a brick-wielding, deranged homeless man. Giuliani immediately recognized that it was exactly the kind of crime people fear most: a senseless, unprovoked attack that can't be guarded against. He assigned 80 detectives to track the perp down and was on radio and TV three times a day, giving NYers updates. They got the guy in a few days. Giuliani's big effort wouldn't have prevented another senseless attack. But, he proved to NYers that he cared about, and was outraged by, the crime. He built confidence.

My personal experience: In the late '90's, I walked all the way from Penn Station to 99th Street on the East Side to visit an aunt in the hospital. The streets were incredibly clean, I didn't encounter one panhandler, and I was amazed at how quiet it was.

His courage and leadership on 9/11 and afterward were magnificent. All of America, not just New York, owes him a debt of gratitude.

If only there was some way he could beat out Hillary this year. I think it's pretty much a forgone conclusion that she will be our next president unfortunately.

But Giuliani doesn't have a prayer either. His post 9/11 self-adulation turned off too many people.

I think Giuliani was a great mayor and doesn't seem to get as much credit as he deserves sometimes. I understand that a lot of people don't like him because he cheated on his wife and I was disgusted by it myself but there are far worse things he could've done that would've made him look worse.

Never happen. I said it in 2008, when everyone thought she was a sure thing, and I'll say it again. She'll never be President. She has too much baggage and she's too fucking old.

When Reagan, Dole and McCain ran their campaigns, the Left was all too quick to mock their age. Well, guess what? She's the same age now as they were then. What's good for the Right is good for the Left. Besides, have you seen her poll numbers these past few weeks?

But Giuliani doesn't have a prayer either. His post 9/11 self-adulation turned off too many people. Perfect example: I loved him while he was in office, today I can't stand the sight of him.

I don't have a great deal of respect for guiliani. The main thing people give him credit for, and maybe he deserves it, is the crime fighting prowess. But from what I understand, that was just his implimentation of the broken glass theories of the Manhattan Institute. Beyond that, he was incompetent as a mayor and at being a human.

Here you have a guy who crossdresses, married his 1st cousin, released the sealed records of a murdered victim of police brutality thus revealing that, gasp, the guy once punched someone in the face, big deal. Here you have a so-called mayor who in response to police brutality complaints then arms the police with hollow point bullets to use against civilians with the excuse that they are "safer" because they will explode on impact and not pass through a target thus hitting someone behind them. Here you have a guy who had a reputation as THE mob buster, and IMHO all he did was make sure the mafia survived by redirecting prosecutions to ten or so guys at the top instead of damn near everyone in Ozone Park, Mulbery Street, Bensonhurst, or you name it. He did not put in the leg work directing the surveillance teams, the crime family squads, flipping perps to become informants, etc. He stole Walter Mack's recognition for his hard work and achievements and protected the mafia. His ability to misappropriate the glory of real policemen and law enforcement tells me all I need to know, or want to know, about that guy.

I don't have a great deal of respect for guiliani. The main thing people give him credit for, and maybe he deserves it, is the crime fighting prowess. But from what I understand, that was just his implimentation of the broken glass theories of the Manhattan Institute. Beyond that, he was incompetent as a mayor and at being a human.

Here you have a guy who crossdresses, married his 1st cousin, released the sealed records of a murdered victim of police brutality thus revealing that, gasp, the guy once punched someone in the face, big deal. Here you have a so-called mayor who in response to police brutality complaints then arms the police with hollow point bullets to use against civilians with the excuse that they are "safer" because they will explode on impact and not pass through a target thus hitting someone behind them. Here you have a guy who had a reputation as THE mob buster, and IMHO all he did was make sure the mafia survived by redirecting prosecutions to ten or so guys at the top instead of damn near everyone in Ozone Park, Mulbery Street, Bensonhurst, or you name it. He did not put in the leg work directing the surveillance teams, the crime family squads, flipping perps to become informants, etc. He stole Walter Mack's recognition for his hard work and achievements and protected the mafia. His ability to misappropriate the glory of real policemen and law enforcement tells me all I need to know, or want to know, about that guy.

I don't have a great deal of respect for guiliani.

He stole Walter Mack's recognition for his hard work and achievements

and protected the mafia.

From what I can see, no two posters have the exact same take on guiliani. Turnbull loves him. Pizza can't stand him. But for polarity's sake, you could say my opinion is the opposite pole to Turnbull's. I really don't see any redeeming qualities in giuliani as an attempted but failed human.

From what I can see, no two posters have the exact same take on guiliani. Turnbull loves him. Pizza can't stand him. But for polarity's sake, you could say my opinion is the opposite pole to Turnbull's. I really don't see any redeeming qualities in giuliani as an attempted but failed human.

great post alfa, I am one guy who completely agrees with you, crime-buster my ass, he's a shameless self-serving egomaniac. and deserves no respect.

Thanks Binnie. It is warming to even read a mere reply from you.

You misread both PB and me, Alfa. PB said he loved him while he was in office, but can't stand him now.

LOl I'd have to log in and out pretty fast to pretend to be both Binnie and Alfa. But I think we couldn't be mistaken for the same guy being as we have different IP addresses LOL

great post alfa, I am one guy who completely agrees with you, crime-buster my ass, he's a shameless self-serving egomaniac. and deserves no respect.

True rockstar, I misread posts, but that's because of quickly skimming them. Did I reside in NYC during "Giuliani Time!" ?

You Betcha.

And anyone from here knows exactly what Guiliani Time meant.