Giuliani Most Popular U.S. Politician

Grizlaw · Post by **Grizlaw** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:17 am

I thought this was interesting...

The sad thing is, if history is any indicator, he'd probably have a hard time winning the Republican nomination, even though he'd probably win a general election handily...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060307/ts ... llpolitics

Ponycat · Post by **Ponycat** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:26 am

I love Giuliani, (loved his book on Leadership) and although it would be tough I think he could get the nomination, but probably not if McCain was running as well. These are my two horses, and I hope they don't end up knocking each other out, which seems likely. I don't know if my republican leanings could handle another Bush/Cheney.

longhorn_22 · Post by **longhorn_22** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:17 pm

Giuliani '08!

Hell's Bells · Post by **Hell's Bells** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:49 pm

Then Jeb bush in '16
bush twins 8 years later....

G.W.Bush · Post by **G.W.Bush** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:58 pm

I thought Giuliani's popularity as mayor of New York was very low prior to 9-11?

G.W.Bush · Post by **G.W.Bush** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:58 pm

Oh yeah, McCain is the man for 2008!

Ponycat · Post by **Ponycat** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:01 pm

G.W.Bush wrote:I thought Giuliani's popularity as mayor of New York was very low prior to 9-11?

That's not my understanding at all. Prior to Giuliani people were saying NYC is done, crime was way up and tourism (visitors, conventions etc.) was way done. He turned this all around. He did have a little dip in his popularity after his divorce and the way it all went down.

BWahlberg · Post by **BWahlberg** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:08 pm

I like Rudi as well, a good moderate Republican. Its a bit of a guess, but one reason why I think he might be so respected as well is that he went out as a hero. Both he, and Bush were very popular with the 9/11 response/clean up and the actions taken afterward. Of course Bush's popularity just started sliding downhill to where he is now while Rudi did not run again and went out "on top" still viewed by many as a hero.

Grizlaw · Post by **Grizlaw** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:01 pm

G.W.Bush wrote:I thought Giuliani's popularity as mayor of New York was very low prior to 9-11?

I actually moved to NYC right before 9/11 (like three weeks before), so I might not be in tune with how popular/unpopular he was, but my impression is that Giuliani was generally pretty well-liked even before 9/11, although he was unpopular with certain groups.

The thing Giuliani was known for was being tough on crime, and a lot of New Yorkers give him complete credit for making the city safer. I don't know what the city was like pre-Giuliani, but now I feel comfortable walking around late at night pretty much anywhere in Manhattan, as long as I stay below Harlem (which isn't a problem; Harlem is like 70 blocks north of where I live), and during the day, I feel safe walking around anywhere in Manhattan (including Harlem and the areas north of Harlem). My understanding is that that was not the case before Giuliani -- you never went to Harlem even during the day, and much of the rest of the city wasn't safe after dark.

The thing that made him unpopular with certain groups is that there were a few highly publicized incidents of police brutality during his watch, and some people blamed his "get tough on crime" mantra for that. That may be a valid criticism; I don't know...personally, I think the NYPD seems to be a pretty well-run department, and I wouldn't blame the mayor for the actions of a few wayward cops, but like I said, I didn't live here at the time, so the problem may have been more widespread than I realize...

Anyway, that's my .02 worth. Sorry to ramble...

--GL