Bloomberg Exposes Rudy "Blowhard" Giuliani

A new Washington Post article explores the Bloomberg effect on Rudy Giuliani's one-note campaign. While Giuliani cannot speak without invoking 9/11 every few words and fear-mongering over terrorism, Bloomberg is comfortable putting world events and terrorism into perspective:

But the contrast surfaced again last month in the two men's reactions to the foiling of an alleged plot to explode fuel tanks at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Giuliani seized on it to bolster his campaign's theme, saying, "Today's arrests remind us that we are at war." Bloomberg offered a noticeably milder response: "You can't sit there and worry about everything. You have a much greater danger of being hit by lightning than being struck by a terrorist. Get a life."

Bloomberg also proves that you can be an effective leader without alienating people, like Giuliani and President Bush have:

Giuliani is selling himself as a strong leader who achieved the impossible in bringing an ungovernable New York under control, even if it required some bruising confrontations along the way. But Bloomberg, his admirers say, has shown that the city of 8 million can be run successfully in a far more understated fashion -- that a mayor can reduce crime without cultivating a sheriff's swagger and antagonizing minorities, protect against terrorism without overly fixating on security, and tackle deeply rooted urban problems without getting into public spats with top appointees.

The article also rightly points out that Giuliani was only in office four months after 9/11, and the work of repairing NYC's infrastructure and economy was left in the skillful hands of Bloomberg:

This extends even to the response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the heart of Giuliani's national appeal. Giuliani won acclaim for the resolve he showed on Sept. 11 and the days and weeks following, but having Bloomberg on stage serves to remind voters that Giuliani was out of office within four months of the attacks, that most of the city's resurgence has been presided over by someone else -- and that many New Yorkers were ready to be rid of Giuliani before Sept. 11.

"Giuliani has positioned himself as America's mayor, but Bloomberg has positioned himself as the guy who rebuilt the city . . . and kept it working," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic Party consultant.

We don't need another President like Bush, but we need a leader like Bloomberg who is truly a uniter and not a divider.

Giuliani: Get a life!