For more of the real story on Giuliani see http://baltech.org/lederman/
  
NY Newsday
Rudy's Record Speaks For Him
December 11, 2001
by Jimmy Breslin

Beautiful. Finally, I agree that Rudy Giuliani is the greatest mayor in the
history of New York, and it is only proper that he is known as the "National
Mayor" and now "World Mayor."

Nor will I countenance these attacks on him that are based on his
performance. Because, as he says, and everybody agrees, he is flawless and
great and does a very, very great job for which you should thank him. Why,
only yesterday he was standing at the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge
and he talked for some time, and while I agree he didn't make much sense, it
was perfectly understandable because he had just returned from Israel and
he might have been befuddled.

But most disturbing were these people who stood in the crowd as Giuliani
talked and glanced down the street at Junior High School 50, which rose from
South Third Street as an indictment.

The school has 98 percent of its pupils in need of free lunch. They are 94
percent Hispanic. But only 49 percent of those in this searing teaching job
have had five years' experience. Only 21 percent of the students are up to
state standards in math, but this is not as catastrophic as it seems; other
schools whose students are as poor as these kids show 11 percent. Only 24.7
percent of the JHS 50 students meet state reading minimums.

Giuliani always said that he must be judged by the job he has done on
education in this city. Some cheap educators say that the city's school
system of over 1 million is worse than it was eight years ago, when Giuliani
took over. Of course the pupils don't complain. Some say they haven't been
taught enough English to protest, but this is merely more vindictive
remarks.

That he was in Williamsburg caused some to think of the Washington Heights
armory, where on Jan. 23, 2000, the mayor had the police raid the homeless
shelter at 4 a.m. and arrest 18 men, seven of them schizophrenics. They were
wanted for urinating on the street, and sleeping in the subway. Cops with
badges hanging from their necks moved through the sleeping men and woke them
up, put handcuffs on them and took them out into a freezing night. The mayor
was immensely proud. But some said it was the lowest act performed in this
city in our time. "He would arrest Christ!" they yelled.

I don't think so at all. I see it just as Giuliani does. I see no reason why
a schizophrenic should not be arrested if he is wanted for sleeping on the
subway. You can't have these people getting away with such crimes.

When you hold up his record leading the city since the attack, these people
with whom I now disagree violently say that Giuliani is a man who got lucky
with a war.

If there had been no attack, they say, he would have been marked forever as
a mean little man whose failures in education were disastrous and threatened
the future success of this city.

Because he had a little trouble at the onset of the attack does not mean
that Giuliani did not have the foresight to know what to do to prepare for
something horrible in the city.

He spent $13 million of money you must earn to build a Special Security
Command Bunker for himself and his staff. Absolutely marvelous. It was on
the 27th floor of Number 7 World Trade Center. "The bunker can withstand all
attacks," he announced. "The building has a power plant as the base. The
World Trade Center bomb could never shake this building."

When the planes hit the Special Security Command Bunker, $13 million worth,
disintegrated. The mayor and his people got out of the place on the dead
run. His dream, the bunker he assured all could never be harmed, his
indestructible bunker, was up in the sky.

Giuliani announced that he, too, had almost been killed in the explosions.
This was very good politics. With thousands dead, it was only right to shout
to the skies and winds that you, too, nearly went the way of the others and
should be celebrated for having survived horrible danger, and if you look at
me, Giuliani said, you will see that I have done so with great valor and
gallantry. How can you tell that? Why, just see how composed I am on
television. I look into the camera and talk and you know that I am a hero.

This is why I say he is the greatest. He went on that television and nothing
fazed him. Not even the people he had with him.

Four, five, six times a day Giuliani went on television and standing behind
him to show all the strength and deepest wisdom were: Bernard Kerik, police
commissioner - he was at the exciting finish to the book about his mother
being a prostitute; and Thomas Von Essen, fire commissioner - he had 350
firefighters die. There were charges of hideous mistakes made by chiefs of
his department. He uttered not a word. Next was Richie Scheirer, a radio
clerk in the tire department who became the mayor's liaison to the Hasidic
neighborhood in Williamsburg. He was at a building collapse and said he
would return and never did, even when the same builder's project caused a
young Mexican immigrant to drown in concrete. He then was made chief of
emergencies.

The television anchormen looked at Giuliani with this lineup behind him and
they were not taken in by cheap opposing views. They accepted this as a
powerful, thrilling group of people who were saving a city. The newspaper
editorials and big writers followed.

Giuliani became the hero of every news person earning from $500,000 to a
million and more a year. He never moved a piece of steel or hauled a bucket
of dirt and body parts. He escorted Oprah to the digging. He ran prayer
services. The most comfortable say Giuliani is the greatest mayor the city
ever has had, and if that is what they say then that is what I say and you,
too, should say and believe. Beautiful.
Copyright © 2001, Newsday, Inc.