When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Sunday, December 23, 2001
Rudy Giuliani, the man who restored New York to a place of pride in the USA, was featured on the television show, A&E Biography last night (12-22-01). During most of his tenure as mayor, I have not been a fan (to the extent I was paying attention , which was not great) of Giuliani's and laughed when he took credit for the reduced crime rate.
[Did you notice, every major city in the country had a reduced crime rate and every mayor of those cities preened and strutted. What happened? think demograhics. The crime-prone age group (16-25) was greatly reduced in number. Think improved economy]
But in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, Giuliani was perfect -- concerned, sympathetic and sure of himself, calm. On the Biography segment they asked him about his calm, and he gave a wonderful answer: "I just reflected how New Yorkers are. That's the way eveyone was, great at dealing with a crisis. I grew up here, you know." (approximate quote, from memory)
George Bush (whom I will not call "president") was, by contrast, uncertain and frightened and went into hiding. When he eventually gathered his courage to emerge for a television appearance, he put on a fake look of concern. It was so bad, I honestly thought the make-up guy had drawn little worry marks on his forehead.
I think Giuliani was a good demonstration of how a leader should act during a critical time. His concern and his calm both were genuine; Bush was acting. Ronald Reagan was a trained actor and could pull off acting concerned; Bush is not and cannot. [I suppose it's too much to hope for that he would feel genuine concern.]
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
Rudy Giuliani, the man who restored New York to a place of pride in the USA, was featured on the television show, A&E Biography last night (12-22-01). During most of his tenure as mayor, I have not been a fan (to the extent I was paying attention , which was not great) of Giuliani's and laughed when he took credit for the reduced crime rate.
[Did you notice, every major city in the country had a reduced crime rate and every mayor of those cities preened and strutted. What happened? think demograhics. The crime-prone age group (16-25) was greatly reduced in number. Think improved economy]
But in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, Giuliani was perfect -- concerned, sympathetic and sure of himself, calm. On the Biography segment they asked him about his calm, and he gave a wonderful answer: "I just reflected how New Yorkers are. That's the way eveyone was, great at dealing with a crisis. I grew up here, you know." (approximate quote, from memory)
George Bush (whom I will not call "president") was, by contrast, uncertain and frightened and went into hiding. When he eventually gathered his courage to emerge for a television appearance, he put on a fake look of concern. It was so bad, I honestly thought the make-up guy had drawn little worry marks on his forehead.
I think Giuliani was a good demonstration of how a leader should act during a critical time. His concern and his calm both were genuine; Bush was acting. Ronald Reagan was a trained actor and could pull off acting concerned; Bush is not and cannot. [I suppose it's too much to hope for that he would feel genuine concern.]
Palema
8:41 AM
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Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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