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Giuliani Is A Leopard Who Can't Change His Spots

Just as I was beginning to fall for the hype, that Republican presidential contender, or pretender, (the choice is yours), is a changed man, he went and proved me wrong. He couldn't resist adopting his tough guy persona in a recent Republican presidential debate. All of his rivals denounced the notion of sending troops inside of Pakistan, without prior approval, to hunt down Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda followers. Mr. Giuliani was the lone exception. He endorsed Barack Obama's ill-conceived notion of foraging inside of Pakistan in hot pursuit of terrorist targets, with or without Pakistani President Pervez Musharrif's permission. That kind of approach is red meat to conservatives, but is anathema to thinking individuals who can look down the road to see the larger picture. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Giuliani is a leopard who can't change his spots.

As Mayor of New York Mr. Giuliani proved to be an excellent manager. He helped to bring the crime statistics down, in a large part do to the efforts of his Police Chief William Bratton. He balanced the budget and grew businesses. He left a lot to be desired in the area of race relations. He seemed to go out of his way to alienate Blacks. Not only did he refuse to meet with so-called rabble rousers like the Rev. Sharpton, he also refused to meet with more moderate types, which included Black elected officials. Why do I mention this blemish on an otherwise, almost spotless record? I mention it because it is endemic of his character. On the marital front he was even worst. He seemed to go out of his way to humiliate his then wife Donna Hanover and their two children, by carrying on his love affair with Judith Nathan in public and on the front pages of the local tabloids. He even went so far as to move Ms. Nathan into Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence, despite the fact that his wife and their children were in residence there.This shabby treatment came on the heels of allegations of an affair with his female communications director including a much rumored desk top tryst in the basement of City Hall. He later rewarded his communications director by placing her in charge of the city's tourism bureau.

These were serious character deficiencies and flaws that were largely absolved by his heroic Nine-Eleven performance. Mr. Giuliani did no more than what any mayor would do, he reassured the populous and encouraged the citizens of New York City to go on with their

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