The Rudy Giuliani Legacy

With the presidential race underway and a number of candidates, both Republicans and Democrats, seeking to be their party's flag bearer, it is interesting to look at the different candidates. Rudy Giuliani is perhaps one of the more interesting candidates to examine.

The fact that a politician who has held only one elected government position, that of Mayor, is considered the favorite to win the Republican primary, is interesting. It begs the question if he has enough experience to be President.

Giuliani, of course, gained national attention, and came to prominence with his reaction to the 9-11 crisis. His popularity skyrocketed and he helped heal America in its time of need. Does the American public know much more about him beyond the public persona displayed during this crisis? This further begs the question if Giuliani has what it takes to be President? Do people really care about his politics? Does it matter?

Often times, what makes or breaks a President is his (or her) ability to respond to a crisis. The fact is that Giuliani put a sense of confidence back, not only in New Yorkers, but in Americans. That is perhaps more presidential than any legislation he, or anyone else, could sign into law.

There was a presidential debate a few elections ago and one of the questions that was asked of the candidates was along the lines of, 'One of the most important things a President can do is respond to the unexpected situation. What would you do when the unexpected situation, that every President must deal with, occurs?' The question shows the importance of responding to the unexpected and the former Mayor of New York responded to the 9-11 crisis quite 'presidentially'.

In this day and age, many Republican candidates are trying to draw parallels between themselves and former President Ronald Reagan. The fact is one very important part of Reagan's presidency, following Jimmy Carter's term in office, was he put a sense of pride back in Americans. Following the Iran hostage situation, many American's felt embarrassed or uneasy. Reagan helped them hold their head high once again and proudly state, "I'm an American".

9-11 was a very different situation, yet the need to respond, to calm the American public, was the same. The ability both men had to respond to the situation was also very similar.

I am not suggesting that it is unimportant where Giuliani stands on the issues. Of course it is important and voters should have the answer to their questions. It is important, however, to consider the way in which Giuliani responded to the situation as being a crucial piece of the puzzle when deciding if you should vote for him. While the rank and file voters may do this, I think many political observers feel where he stands on the issues is more important. As a political observer, I think his response to 9-11 is quite pertinent to the presidential race.