Rude Rudy?

Giuliani (R) and Rumsfeld at the WTC -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
So far, out of all the candidates running for the 2008 Presidential Election I'm underwhelmed. I think both of the leading Democrats have bad Achilles' heels -- Obama has trouble recalling his childhood accurately and Hillary has all the Bill baggage. I prefer Edwards, but he has little "mo" at the moment. Of the leading Republicans, Romney misspoke about being a hunter and has flip-flopped on everything. McCain is going down with the "Stay in Iraq" ship, and that mostly leaves Giuliani as the GOP candidate du jour. I liked that Giuliani stuck to his guns on abortion rights and thought he might be a tolerable choice from the GOP.

Now Matt Taibbi, political staff writer for Rollins Stone magazine, indicates that Rudy Giuliani could be Bush III. There are several areas where Giuliani can be seen as a scary man. As mayor of New York, he had a reputation as a bully, and his bully tendencies have carried forward. He's hired Chris Henick, a Karl Rove henchman to head up his security firm. Two of Giuliani's biggest donors are T. Boone Pickens and Texas home builder Bob Perry; these two men financed the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who derailed John Kerry's 2004 campaign. Last but not least, Giuliani has acquired thirty of Bush's "Pioneer" fund raisers who helped him bag copious amounts of campaign cash.

Taibbi says that Giuliani has become a 9/11 profiteer -- he's even trade-marked the name "America's Mayor". He's used the name for his law, security and investment firms; he also commands huge fees for speaking about 9/11. On a recent speaking engagement, he requested a $47,000 private jet flight, a private suite with balcony and five hotel rooms. He's used his 9/11 connection to bring in some of the world's biggest, most lucrative security contracts. Taibbi further says that Giuliani never met a lobbyist he didn't like. He’s been "in bed" with Big Oil, Big Media and Saudi Arabia among other parties. Six years ago, Giuliani received applause for not taking a donation from a Saudi royal who suggested the 9/11 attacks were somehow "justified". Well and good, but Taibbi says Giuliani has accepted donations from other unsavory types; he accepted a $2 million gift from former cocaine smuggle Hank Asher.

In the final condemnation, Taibbi says that Giuliani showed cavalier disregard for the toxins created by the debris at the World Trade Center after its collapse. He handed cleanup over to crony companies, declared "no significant problems" with WTC air, and continued to deny the problem even after hundreds of people involved in cleanup started developing unusual cancers and respiratory illnesses.

With all that has been said here, it's very disillusioning. Elections are always about lesser evils and any of the lot would be better than "W". If there is much truth to Taibbi's allegations, Giuliani is a man of great personal short-comings. Would he screw things up as badly as Bush? Surely not, but let's not set the bar that low.

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