America's Mayor, America's President?: The Strange Career of Rudy Giuliani

By Robert Polner

Rudy Giuliani's admirably flinty response to the horrifying events of 9/11 made him a national hero, positioning him for big things to come -- a run at the highest office -- in the nation's political life. However, the outpouring of praise for his performance after that grim day has obscured many uncomfortable facts about Giuliani, one of the most polarizing figures in the history of the Big Apple. America's Mayor, America's President? collects original articles and reporting by some of New York's most perceptive authors and reporters on Giuliani's two terms as mayor. This revised and expanded edition includes such luminaries as Michael Powell on Rudy and race; Greg Sargent on his presidential chances and what kind of leader he would be; and Richie Steier discussing the messy Bernard Kerik affair. These, and nine other articles, have few illusions about Giuliani's turbulent reign, offering an informative and entertaining corrective to today's simplistic celebration of this complex, troubling figure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933368942
• ISBN13: 9781933368948
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Soft Skull
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Take it from a New Yorker

This book is a group of essays by New Yorkers who have lived through or dealt with a mayor who is popular everywhere except where he governed, New York City. These authors catalogue Rudy Giulianni's vindictiveness, pettiness, totalitarian approach to governing, and his tight control of information and the press. Claiming to change government, remove patronage, and bring honesty and openness, Rudy Giulianni did the opposite. He hired incompetent patrons, made slanderous accusations, and dealt with anyone who challenged him with unusual cruelty and ruthlessness. When a judge ruled that he could not deny a parade permit to those whose theme he did not approve of, he moved in with helicopters and police in riot gear to end the gathering at the precise time limit of the parade--4:30 p.m. This was a measure of a man who had to get his way. The authors faithfully record his double standard of morality with his open affair while he was still married. He made sure that the reporters said hello to his "friend" Judy. At the same token, he bristled at the "anti-Catholic," immorality of a reverent display of the madonna because it was sculpted in part with elephant dung. When the museum refused to remove the display, he threatened to cut off its funding. His wife, an actor and broadcaster eventually got even though. When he refused to accept blame for the divorce, she was all set to take him through the divorce court cleaners. He reneged, and she took him through the divorce agreement cleaners. Purporting to have been a mob-busting district attorney who was the first to use the RICO statutes to put mobsters away, he built his myth on this lie and others. Some of his convictions were overturned because he withheld evidence. His legal skill was again challenged as mayor when he was sued left, right and center for abrogating the constitutional rights of others. He even broke the law by denying federally-mandated food stamps to the poor. He lost almost all of the lawsuits filed against him as mayor. His temporary redemption came in the form of 9/11 where he displayed a brief, shining moment of steadiness. But New Yorkers found him intolerable when he asked the mayoral candidates to suspend taking office because he felt he needed an additional three months to get things right. The lord mayor felt that he was even bigger than the democratic process. The writers have scribed these revelations because they believe that Rudolph Giulliani still has political aspirations for governor or president, where he can be in complete control. This would not include being a mere congressional back-bencher. Their essays are a siren song, a warning, that Rudy is not worthy of the public trust. There are too many accounts of Giulianni's indiscretions, invective and authoritarianism to mention here. If you think Bush is imperial, this one is downright dictatorial. Remember, this is the man who told an enthralled Republican Convention in New York City "I turned to my police com