Meant #189 not #186.

Good points #186 … Calb.

Another hi-jack by a mindless troll. I doubt this was actually said by Uncle Ho.

You are not Zooey.

Whoever you are – I guess you see yourself as the heart and soul of the Republican Party … Hijacking names and saying the ridiculous things you just said …

1. Since you have changed the direction of the discussion from Guiliani as a president to the NYC mayors that preceded him (the two most recent ex-mayors – Dinkins and Koch – are not running for president and the three before them – Beame, Lindsay and Wagner – are deceased) – this indicates to me that you realize that the “Guiliani – Super Savior of New York” hype should be rolled back quite a bit. Way back …

2. The problems with some of the minority neighborhoods in NYC started in the 1950’s and 1960’s – not over “the past 100 years” as you said in your comment. Many of these problems were independent of mayoral policies.

3. Guiliani added 4,000 police during his time. (The mayor that preceded him, Dinkins, added 2,000 during his time). One of Guiliani’s “big moves” as NYC mayor was to cut the municipal workforce. He did this by attrition. This helped give him room to finance the increase in police.

Do not under estimate the significance of the direction of the federal budget during Guiliani’s time as mayor (which basically paralleled the Clinton terms as president). During this time – the federal budget was moving from a deficit to ultimately a surplus.

Federal deficits tend to increase the threat of reduced federal aid to major US cities. This is important because in spending areas where NYC wants help from the federal government – such as Medicaid and programs like subsidized housing and welfare – New York receives far more federal aid per capita than most other American cities.

If the Clinton administration had been in deficit like the Bush administration is – it may have been pressured to cut federal aid to Guiliani in NYC. This would have worked to offset the gains from the workforce reduction and made it harder to increase the police force as he did.

With the Bush deficits – this is how life is nowadays for the current NYC Mayor – Republican Michael Bloomberg:

——————————–

Bloomberg accuses Bush of shortchanging the No Child Left Behind Act …

Bloomberg criticizes Bush’s proposed cuts to federal funds for child care …

Bloomberg argues that Republicans promised $700 million to implement the new election law passed in the wake of the Florida debacle, yet Bush finds only $40 million in his budget for it …

Bloomberg opposes Bush’s proposed cuts to bioterrorism funds for NYC …

Bloomberg opposes the $110 million reduction in a program for dislocated workers …

Bloomberg opposes the $240 million cut to a program that helps New York City fight poverty …

Bloomberg opposes the elimination of Justice Department grants that NYC uses to help fight drugs and pay 911 operators …

Bloomberg opposes the slashing of millions from public housing …

Bloomberg opposes Bush’s paltry spending on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program …

In 2003, Bloomberg had to consider CUTS to the NYC Police force.

————————–

With respect to Guiliani’s positive accomplishments, if Guiliani was in Bloomberg’s shoes (i.e., forced to deal with the aftermath of Bush’s fiscal administration) it is debatable if Guiliani would have been able to accomplish these things (or at least to the extent that he did).

Guiliani accomplished some good things. But he had help. Crime started to decline nationwide in the early 1990’s.

Who was president?

of which does rudy have more: draft deferments or ex-wives?

which did he spend more time doing: avoidong military service or committing adultery?

how can you follow into war a man who has spent so many nights in sleazy motels with his future ex-wives and so few in any uniform of his nation?

But he won’t win for one simple reason.

NO ONE CAN SPELL HIS NAME CORRECTLY.

I have seen so many fucking misspellings on his name, and it drives me batty. Granted, it’s probably karmic payback for misspelling Niagara when he was running for Senate, but damn.

I don’t give a shit about his personal life. I do know what his record was in NYC, and I am not impressed.

He ain’t the worst thing in the world, but seriously, get your (and I mean the general you as it applies to his followers) head out of his ass. He didn’t ’save’ New York, nor is he a hero of 9/11. He was a mediocre mayor with MANY personal failings. As soon as he was out of office, he couldn’t wait to profit off of his association with 9/11.

He is certainly not someone who should be President of our great country.

Re: Harlem

It wasn’t just Guiliani.

Starting in 1994, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone funneled money into new developments including the Harlem USA retail complex. Finally, wealthier New Yorkers, having gentrified every other part of Manhattan and much of Brooklyn, had nowhere else to go. The same thing is currently happening in Hoboken, NJ.

Re: the “Empowerment Zone” – the following is an excerpt of a phone call made by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Gore in 1994 to Guiliani and others.

THE PRESIDENT:I know the Vice President wants to say a few words, but let me say that when I ran for President in 1992, I advocated setting up these empowerment zone ideas. I advocated seeing if we could have a partnership between the national government, grass-roots communities and the private sector to get investment going in places where too many people have been left behind.

(Later in the call …)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Also, if I may, Mr. President, I’d just like to say that the New York application is a perfect example of different levels of government working together in a single cooperative way. Both the city and state governments have separately agreed to match the $100 million federal grant. And it is really a terrific application.

MAYOR GUILIANI: Mr. Vice President, this is Mayor Guiliani. **** This process began under Mayor Dinkins, who’s here with me, and was carried through by my administration. We’ve worked very closely together on it. ****

Like I said. It wasn’t just Guiliani.

i wonder if you can tell me why the republicans keep saying that there were no terrorist attackes on american soil since 9/11. that’s an obvious lie isn’t it?

after all, 7 letters containing anthrax were mailed, 22 people were infected with anthrax and 5 people died. notes that were included with the anthrax were full of threatening terrorist slogans. what would america’s mayor do to find and prosecute those terrorists?

Hey Nostradumbass, did the mayor and the President stop the attacks of 9/11/01.? I don’t recall. Oh, wait I do recall, you didn’t because you suck.

zippi, if that’s really you name,

i’m really much more interested in how bushy is fighting the anthrax terrorists. how is that coming?

#157

Exley

Re: “Well said, Mr. Mayor. As a native New Yorker and someone who was in New York on 9/11, … blah blah blah …”

I am a native New Yorker and someone who was in New York on 9/11 as well.

Gulliani did what any other mayor of a U.S. city would have done under the same circumstances. He gathered and conveyed information.

All of the institutions necessary to get NYC back on its feet after the attacks were more than happy to assist him with key decisions in any way possible. As they would have been for any mayor in his situation.

What would have been impressive is if he had actually said “WTF???!!!!” when Whitman said the air at Ground Zero was “fine.”

———————————

However, Giuliani maintained Sunday that he was honest and open about air quality issues.

“I put out all the reports that existed,” Giuliani said. “Of course the reports that I put out were the same thing that Christie Whitman was saying publicly.”

One report the city apparently didn’t put out was an explosive memo from the EPA to the city Health Department dated Oct. 5, 2001. It didn’t mince words, stating of ground zero: “this site…poses threats to workers related to potential exposure to hazardous substances.”

Three weeks after the EPA memo, Giuliani’s environmental commissioner, Joel Miele, was still saying the air was safe.

“For the residents and people who are working in the open area that has been created downtown there is no realistic danger to the health,” Miele said.

Responding to Giuliani’s comments, EPA regional commissioner Jane Kenny said her agency told the Giuliani Administration every day at daily briefings the air at ground zero was bad.

———————————–

He was down there almost every day and he simply “passed along” Whitman’s conclusions. Great.

Great leadership.

Re: the crime and cleaning up the city…

Yeah, he put homeless people in jail. I’m not saying that he was right or wrong for that. But it should take more than something like that to get a presidential vote from anyone.

He was pro-police, which is fine. But he often was pro-police “right or wrong” – which is not fine.

Dude, I’ve seen your posts pretty frequently. You have supported Bush. Now Giuliani. I hope you are much wiser when you pick your women.

didn’t know rudy was in ww2. can you post a cite for that?