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Rudi Giuliani was three months into his presidential campaign when he finally got a question in a public forum alluding to his lack of foreign policy experience. He had apparently anticipated the moment, and it was a testament to his popularity that it wasn't posed earlier. The question was "Mr. Giuliani, there's some deep concern about (your) lack of foreign policy and experience in foreign affairs."

His response was a bouncy, "What makes you think that the mayor of New York City doesn't need a foreign policy?" He continued:

"In the time that I've been out of office, I think I've made about 91, 92 foreign trips, and I've spoken in 34, 35 different countries, and have met with and talked to, not all the world leaders, but a good many of them, and then a lot of their number two, number three, number four people," he said. "And it's something that I think I know as well as anybody else who's running for president, probably better than a lot. And then in my business, I've done business in Asia, in the Middle East, in South America. So I know the world."

His argument continues along the lines that New York is unlike any city anywhere. The mayor, he argues, is more like a governor. And, of course, governors are frequently elected president.

Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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