Rudy Giuliani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born May 28, 1944
Brooklyn, New York
Residence New York
Office Mayor of New York City
Term 1994 – 2001
Predecessor David N. Dinkins
Successor Michael R. Bloomberg
Political party Republican
Religion Roman Catholic
Spouse Judith Nathan
Children Andrew, Caroline, Whitney
Website: http://www.solutionsamerica.com/

Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani III, (born May 28, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994, through December 31, 2001. He is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani Partners LLC, which he founded in January 2002, and a name partner in the Houston-based law firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. During his two terms as mayor of NYC, crime rates dropped dramatically. His popularity was elevated during the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. [2][3]

Since leaving office as Mayor of New York, Giuliani has spent large amounts of his time campaigning for Republican candidates for political offices at all levels. In 2004, for example, he was one of the keynote speakers of the Republican National Convention. On June 13, 2006, Giuliani started a website called Solutions America ostensibly to help elect Republican candidates around the nation, but which might also be part of a framework of a 2008 presidential run. On November 13, 2006, Giuliani announced that he has launched an exploratory committee to consider a run for president in 2008.[1]

Giuliani is married to Judith Nathan in his third marriage. He has two children, Andrew and Caroline, from a marriage with Donna Hanover, and one stepdaughter, Whitney, from the relationship with Nathan. Giuliani was also previously married to Regina Peruggi.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early career
* 2 Mayoralty
o 2.1 1993 campaign and election
o 2.2 Crime control
o 2.3 Urban reconstruction
o 2.4 Media management
o 2.5 Run for United States Senate
o 2.6 Opposition to Brooklyn Museum art exhibit
o 2.7 Role during 9/11 attack
+ 2.7.1 Image
+ 2.7.2 Effect on 2001 local elections
+ 2.7.3 Time Person of the Year
* 3 Post-mayoralty
o 3.1 Consulting
o 3.2 Commercial endorsement
o 3.3 2004
o 3.4 2005
o 3.5 2006
* 4 Anticipated 2008 presidential campaign
* 5 Electoral history
* 6 Further reading
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
* 9 Notes

[edit] Early career

Giuliani was born in Brooklyn, New York to Harold Angelo Giuliani and Helen C. D'Avanzo, the children of Italian immigrants. He was raised in Garden City South on Long Island and attended Manhattan College before graduating from New York University School of Law magna cum laude in 1968. Upon graduation, he clerked for Judge Lloyd MacMahon, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

In 1970, Giuliani joined the Office of the US Attorney. In 1973, he was named Chief of the Narcotics Unit and rose to serve as executive US Attorney. In 1975, Giuliani was recruited to Washington, D.C., where he was named Associate Deputy Attorney General and chief of staff to the Deputy Attorney General. His first high-profile prosecution was of Congressman Bert Podell, who was convicted of corruption. From 1977 to 1981, Giuliani practiced law at the Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler law firm.

In 1981, Giuliani was named Associate Attorney General, placing him in the third-highest position in the Department of Justice. As Associate Attorney General, Giuliani supervised all of the US Attorney Offices' Federal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Corrections, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Marshals Service.

In a well-publicized 1982 case, Giuliani testified in defense of the federal government "detention posture" of interning over 2,000 unlawfully-immigrated Haitian refugees in refugee camps, at one point stating that there was "no political repression" under President Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.[4]

In 1983, Giuliani was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. It was in this position that he first gained national prominence by prosecuting numerous high-profile cases, including the successful prosecutions of Wall Street figures Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken for insider trading.

Giuliani attracted some criticism for arranging very public arrests of people, then dropping charges for lack of evidence rather than going to trial. He also spearheaded the effort to jail drug dealers, combat organized crime, break the web of corruption in government, and prosecute white-collar criminals. He amassed a record of 4,152 convictions with only 25 reversals.

It was in 1983 that Giuliani indicted Marc Rich on charges of tax evasion and making illegal oil deals with Iran during the hostage crisis. Rich fled the United States to avoid prosecution, and was controversially pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001.[5]

In 1984, Giuliani indicted Paul Castellano for racketeering and involvement in the La Cosa Nostra Commission.

Giuliani was U.S. Attorney until January 1989, resigning as the Reagan administration ended. He then joined the law firm White & Case in New York City, as a partner. He remained with White & Case until May 1990, when he joined the law firm Anderson Kill Olick & Oshinsky, also in New York City.

Giuliani first ran for New York City Mayor as the candidate of both the Republican and Liberal parties, attempting to succeed Ed Koch in 1989. Democrat David Dinkins was elected by a margin of 47,080 votes in 1,899,845 votes cast, in the closest election in city history.[6]

[edit] Mayoralty

[edit] 1993 campaign and election

The principal issues of the election of 1993 were crime and taxes. Giuliani also campaigned on what he perceived to be the unchecked expansion of the city's budget and the lack of managerial competence of incumbent David Dinkins. While Dinkins had frequently and eloquently voiced his affection for New York City diversity while in office, his tenure bore witness to anti-Semitic rioting in Crown Heights and an Al Sharpton-led boycott of Korean businesses in Brooklyn.

Giuliani promised a return to social order, addressing day-to-day issues rather than past or imminent crises:

The prevalence of homeless panhandlers on streets and subways.
The squeegee men begging from motorists waiting at a light.
streets.[7]

Giuliani's message focused on an alleged breakdown of social and political order that Dinkins had been either unwilling or unable to effectively address: the rise in unemployment during an economic downturn(6.7% in 1989 to 11.1% in 1992), the rate of crime in NYC reaching an all-time peak, and the August 1991 Crown Heights Riot, all were contrasted with Dinkins's appeal to the "gorgeous mosaic" of New York ethnic diversity.

Giuliani won the election by a margin of 53,367 votes, with 49.25% of the electorate to the incumbent's 46.42% share. He became the first Republican elected Mayor of New York City since John Lindsay won re-election in 1969.

[edit] Crime control
National, New York City, and other major city crime rates (1990-2002).

In his first term as mayor, Giuliani, in conjunction with New York City Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton, adopted an aggressive enforcement-deterrent strategy based on James Q. Wilson's Broken Windows research. This involved crackdowns on relatively minor offenses such as graffiti, turnstile jumping, and aggressive "squeegeemen", on the principle that this would send a message that order would be maintained, and that the city would be "cleaned up".

Giuliani also directed the New York City Police Department to aggressively pursue enterprises linked to organized crime, such as the Fulton Fish Market and the Javits Center on the West Side (Gambino crime family), in the breaking up of mob control of solid waste removal, the city was able to save city businesses over $600 million.

One of the first initiatives of Giuliani and Bratton was the institution of CompStat in 1994, a comparative statistical approach to mapping crime geographically and in terms of emerging criminal patterns, as well as charting officer performance by quantifying criminal apprehensions. CompStat was operationalized by the empowerment of precinct commanders, based on the assumption that local authorities could best institute crime reduction techniques specific to their experiential knowledge of their own localities. This system also enhanced the accountability of both the commanders and the officers themselves. Critics of the system assert that it creates an environment in which police officials are encouraged to underreport or otherwise manipulate crime data.[8]

Giuliani continued to highlight crime reduction and law enforcement as central missions of his mayoralty throughout both terms, efforts which largely met with success. Concurrent with his achievements, a number of tragic cases of abuse of authority took place, and numerous allegations of civil rights abuses were leveled.

Giuliani's own Deputy Mayor, Rudy Washington, alleged that he had been harassed by police on several occasions. More controversial still were several police shootings of unarmed suspects[9], and the scandals surrounding the brutalization of Abner Louima and the killing of Amadou Diallo.

In a case less nationally-publicized than those of Louima and Diallo, unarmed bar patron Patrick Dorismond was killed shortly after declining the overtures of what turned out to be an undercover officer soliciting illegal drugs. Even while hundreds of outraged New Yorkers protested, Giuliani staunchly supported the New York City Police Department, going so far as to take the unprecedented step of releasing Dorismond's "extensive criminal record" to the public.[10]

The amount of credit Giuliani's policies deserve for the drop in the crime rate is disputed. A small but significant nationwide drop in crime preceded Giuliani's election, and he may have been the beneficiary of a trend already in progress. Additional contributing factors to the overall decline in crime during the 1990's was federal funding of an additional 7,000 police officers and an overall improvement in the national economy. Many experts believe changing demographics were the factor most responsible for crime rate reductions, which were similar across the country during this time. [citation needed] Different studies show that New York's drop in crime rate in the '90s and '00s exceeds all national figures and therefore should be linked with a local dynamic that was not present as such anywhere else in the country: "most focused form of policing in history. Zimring (Frank Zimring - The Great American Crime Decline) estimates that up to half of New York’s crime drop in the 1990s, and virtually 100 percent of its continuing crime decline since 2000, has resulted from policing." However, any "credit for keeping Gotham on the path of ongoing crime reduction belongs to Ray Kelly, serving his second tour of duty as the NYPD’s commissioner.(...) Giuliani loyalists, perennially predicting le déluge, greeted Kelly’s appointment with dismay." [11]

Many New Yorkers believe Mayor Giuliani's policies pertaining to the policing of NYC to have been effective. This view was obviously not limited to New York City residents, as several programs similar to CompStat were subsequently instituted by a variety of urban police departments nationwide.[12][13]

Giuliani dismissed Bratton after polls indicated that 60 percent of New Yorkers credited Bratton with the drop in crime and 18 percent credited the mayor.[2]

[edit] Urban reconstruction

Giuliani pursued similarly aggressive real estate policies. The Times Square redevelopment project saw Times Square transformed from a seedy, run-down center for businesses ranging from tourist attractions and peep shows to a gleaming, high-priced district filled with family-oriented stores and theaters, including the MTV studios and a massive Disney store and theater. Giuliani faced some opposition to these changes, which critics alleged displaced low income residents of the area in favor of large corporations. His critics also alleged that the Giuliani administration's real estate policies tended to reduce the amount of usable public space in the city while increasing the amount of private or corporate space (e.g., the sale of city-owned community gardens to private developers). Throughout his term, Giuliani also pursued the construction of a new sports stadium in Manhattan, a goal in which he did not succeed, though new minor league baseball stadiums opened in Brooklyn, for the Brooklyn Cyclones, and in Staten Island, for the Staten Island Yankees. Conversely, Guiliani refused to attend the opening ceremonies for a Dinkins success, Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, Queens, stating his anger with a contract that fines the city if planes from LaGuardia Airport fly over the stadium during U.S. Open matches. Giuliani boycotted the U.S. Open throughout his mayoralty.

[edit] Media management

Giuliani, after being elected, started a weekly call-in program on WABC radio. He avoided one-on-one interviews with the press, preferring to only speak to them at press conferences or on the steps of City Hall. Giuliani made frequent visits to The Late Show with David Letterman television show, sometimes appearing as a guest and sometimes participating in comedy segments. In one highly publicized appearance that took place shortly after his election, Giuliani filled a pothole in the street outside the Ed Sullivan theater.
Donald Rumsfeld and Rudy Giuliani at the site of the World Trade Center, on November 14 2001.
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Donald Rumsfeld and Rudy Giuliani at the site of the World Trade Center, on November 14 2001.

[edit] Run for United States Senate

In April 1999 Giuliani formed an exploratory committee in connection with the 2000 New York United States Senate election, seeking the Republican nomination to fill the seat vacated by the retiring Daniel Patrick Moynihan. His expected Democratic opponent was Hillary Rodham Clinton. On May 19, 2000, before the Republican primary, which he was expected to win, he withdrew his candidacy because of prostate cancer, the Farmersville Garbage Scandal which significantly reduced his support in his core upstate counties, and the fallout from his affair and messy divorce from his wife Donna Hanover. During the ill-fated campaign, Giuliani was forced to confess to his marital infidelities and, in the process, lost a further significant base of electoral support. New York Congressman Rick Lazio replaced Giuliani as the Republican nominee and lost to Clinton.

[edit] Opposition to Brooklyn Museum art exhibit

In 1999 Giuliani threatened to cut off city funding for the Brooklyn Museum if the museum did not remove a number of works in an exhibit entitled “Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection.” One work in particular, The Holy Virgin Mary by Turner Prize winning-artist Chris Ofili (a Catholic himself), featured the Virgin Mary next to elephant dung and female genitalia pictures. It was targeted as being offensive to some in the Christian community in New York, leading the artist to comment that "This is all about control."

In its defense, the museum filed a lawsuit, charging Giuliani with violating the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Religious groups such as the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights supported the mayor's actions, while it was condemned by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, objecting to the mayor's censorship and interference with the first amendment rights of the museum.[3][4] The museum's lawsuit was successful; the mayor was ordered to resume funding, and the judge, Federal District Judge Nina Gershon, declared that [t]here is no federal constitutional issue more grave than the effort by government officials to censor works of expression and to threaten the vitality of a major cultural institution as punishment for failing to abide by governmental demands for orthodoxy.[5]

[edit] Role during 9/11 attack

The defining episode in Giuliani's career was his management of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. He coordinated the response of various city departments while organizing the support of state and federal authorities for the World Trade Center site, for city-wide anti-terrorist measures, and for restoration of destroyed infrastructure. He made frequent appearances on radio and television to communicate critical information to the public authoritatively: for example, to indicate that tunnels would be closed as a precautionary measure, and that there was no reason to believe that the dispersion of chemical or biological weaponry into the air were a factor in the attack. He balanced the need to make hundreds of decisions directly and immediately, to delegate hundreds of others, and to visit the injured and console the families of the dead.

When Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal suggested that the attacks were an indication that the United States "should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stand toward the Palestinian cause," Giuliani asserted,

There is no moral equivalent for this [terrorist] act. There is no justification for it... And one of the reasons I think this happened is because people were engaged in moral equivalency in not understanding the difference between liberal democracies like the United States, like Israel, and terrorist states and those who condone terrorism. So I think not only are those statements wrong, they're part of the problem.[14]

New York City subsequently rejected the prince's $10 million donation to disaster relief in the aftermath of the attack.

In the wake of the attacks, Giuliani was widely hailed for his decisive and undaunted leadership during the crisis. For this, he was named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2001, and given an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II on February 13, 2002.[15]

Giuliani has been subject to increased criticism for downplaying the health effects of the air in the Financial District and lower Manhattan areas in the vicinity of the Ground Zero.[6] He moved quickly to reopen Wall Street, and it was reopened on September 17. However, in the weeks after the attacks, the United States Geological Survey identified hundreds of asbestos hot spots of debris dust that remained on buildings. By the end of the month the USGS reported that the toxicity of the debris was akin to that of a household cleaner.[7] The city's health agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Protection, did not supervise or issue guidelines for the testing and cleanup of private buildings. Instead, the city left this responsibility to building owners.[8]

Firefighters, police and their unions, have criticized Giuliani over the issue of protective equipment and illnesses after the attacks.[9]An October study by the National Institute of Environmental Safety and Health said that cleanup workers lacked adequate protective gear.[10]

[edit] Image

Giuliani in his public statements mirrored the emotions of New Yorkers at the time: shock, sadness, anger, resolution to rebuild, and the desire for justice to be done to those responsible. "Tomorrow New York is going to be here," he said. "And we're going to rebuild, and we're going to be stronger than we were before...I want the people of New York to be an example to the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, that terrorism can't stop us." Giuliani was widely praised for his close involvement with the rescue and recovery efforts.

As an avid and public fan of the New York Yankees, who won four World Series Championships during his time as mayor, Giuliani has frequently been sighted in field-level seating at Yankee games, often accompanied by his son. On September 21, 2001, the first game was played in New York City since the attacks, with the New York Mets at home facing the Atlanta Braves. Despite his being a Yankee fan, the crowd cheered for him for his leadership over the preceding days.
Rudy Giuliani, 2001 Time Person of the Year.
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Rudy Giuliani, 2001 Time Person of the Year.

[edit] Effect on 2001 local elections

The 9/11 attack occurred on the scheduled date of the mayoral primary to select the Democratic and Republican candidates to succeed Giuliani. The primary was immediately delayed two weeks to September 25. During this period, Giuliani sought an unprecedented three-month emergency extension of his term, from its scheduled expiration on January 1 to April 1, due to the circumstances of the emergency besetting the city. He threatened to challenge the law imposing term limits on elected New York City officials and run for another full four-year term, if the primary candidates did not consent to permit the extension of his mayoralty.[11]

Advocates for the extension contended that Giuliani was needed to manage the initial requests for funds from Albany and Washington, speed up recovery, and slow down the exodus of jobs from lower Manhattan to outside New York City. Opponents viewed the extension as an unprecedented power grab and as a means for Giuliani to profit politically from the sudden, international prominence of the role of New York City Mayor. Although a provision for emergency extensions is written into the New York State Constitution (Article 3 Section 25),[12] leaders in the State Assembly and Senate indicated that they did not believe the extension was necessary and the election and inauguration proceeded as scheduled.

[edit] Time Person of the Year

In 2001, TIME magazine named Giuliani Person of the Year.[13] TIME observed that, prior to 9/11, the public image of Giuliani had been that of a rigid, self-righteous, ambitious politician. After 9/11, and perhaps owing also to his bout with cancer, his public image had been reformed to that of a man who could be counted on to unite a city in the midst of its greatest crisis. Thus historian Vincent J. Cannato concluded in September, 2006, "With time, Giuliani's legacy will be based on more than just 9/11. He left a city immeasurably better off -- safer, more prosperous, more confident -- than the one he had inherited eight years earlier, even with the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center at its heart. Debates about his accomplishments will continue, but the significance of his mayoralty is hard to deny."[14]

At the same time, however, voices were being raised against the refrain that it was the mayor who had pulled the city together. "You didn't bring us together, our pain brought us together and our decency brought us together. We would have come together if Bozo was the mayor," said civil-rights activist Al Sharpton, in a statement largely supported by Fernando Ferrer, one of three main candidates for the mayoralty at the end of 2001.[15]

[edit] Post-mayoralty
Rudy Giuliani at NYFPC briefing on "New York City - 1 Year After 9/11".
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Rudy Giuliani at NYFPC briefing on "New York City - 1 Year After 9/11".

[edit] Consulting

After leaving the mayor's office, Giuliani built a security consulting business and gave speeches. On December 1, 2004 his consulting firm announced it purchased accounting firm Ernst & Young's investment banking unit. The new investment bank will be known as Giuliani Capital Advisors LLC and will advise companies on acquisitions, restructurings and other strategic issues.

[edit] Commercial endorsement

Giuliani and Giuliani Partners struck a deal to promote the wireless communication company Nextel. [16]

[edit] 2004

Giuliani, who campaigned on behalf of the reelection of George W. Bush in the 2004 election, was reportedly the top choice for Secretary of Homeland Security after the resignation of Tom Ridge. When suggestions were made that Giuliani's confirmation hearings would be marred by details of his past affairs and scandals, he turned down the offer and instead recommended his friend and former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Kerik in his pre-announcement interviews with the White House failed to disclose facts in his past which were certain to disqualify him. After the formal announcement of Kerik's nomination, information known for years to local reporters, but unreported, became widely known. The political fallout was damaging to the perception of competence in the White House vetting process and doubts as to the political judgment of Giuliani in recommending Kerik in the first place.
Giuliani cutting the ribbon of the new Drug Enforcement Agency mobile museum in Dallas, Texas in Sept. 2003
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Giuliani cutting the ribbon of the new Drug Enforcement Agency mobile museum in Dallas, Texas in Sept. 2003

[edit] 2005

On March 31, 2005, it was announced that Giuliani would join the firm of Bracewell & Patterson LLP (renamed Bracewell & Giuliani LLP) as a name partner and symbolic head of the expanding firm's new New York office. Despite a busy schedule the former mayor is known to be highly active in the day-to-day business of the Texas-based law firm. While there was early speculation that the firm would merge with Giuliani Partners, this is a legal impossibility (As a matter of ethics, lawyers cannot share legal fees with non-lawyers). However, while the firm is completely independent of the consulting business, the two entities maintain a close strategic partnership.

[edit] 2006

Some have speculated that Giuliani might become a candidate for statewide office in 2006, either for the United States Senate challenging incumbent Hillary Clinton, or for Governor of New York; on July 27, 2005, current Governor George Pataki announced that he would not seek re-election for a fourth term. The consensus of political observers then was that Giuliani would not run[16] even though polls show that he would be favored in a matchup against Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer [17]; in any case, a Giuliani spokesman says that he "has no intention" of running,[17] leaving no clear favorite among Republicans. With Giuliani staying out of the Senate race, the Republican nomination was contested among several lesser-known candidates, with none gaining much traction and several dropping out (see New York U.S. Senate election, 2006). Democrat Eliot Spitzer won the governorship by 41% margin [18].

On March 15, 2006, Congress announced the formation of the Iraq Study Group (ISG), of which Giuliani is a member. The ISG is a bi-partisan task force which authored the Iraq Study Group Report, an assessment of US involvement in Iraq.

On May 12, 2006, Cinema Libre Studio [19] is scheduled to theatrically release GIULIANI TIME [20], a critical, feature-length documentary about Giuliani's personal and political history.

On August 15, 2006, a poll from Rasmussen Reports revealed the perception of Giuliani as a moderate. [21]

On November 13, 2006, Giuliani took his first step toward a potential 2008 White House bid by forming a presidential exploratory committee. He has not officially decided if he will run. By forming the committee Giuliani is able to travel and gauge support without formally declaring his candidacy, which would subject him to federal fundraising laws.

[edit] Anticipated 2008 presidential campaign
Rudy Giuliani speaks to the press about New York's status two years after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
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Rudy Giuliani speaks to the press about New York's status two years after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Giuliani is widely reported to be considering a run for the Presidency in 2008. Supporters point to his leadership of New York City during the 9/11 attacks and his coordination of the emergency response in the immediate aftermath, as well as his track record of success in reducing crime and improving the economy of New York City. The prospect of a Republican candidate possibly carrying New York is strategically tantalizing for the Republican Party, since the state has recently voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in national elections.

A significant obstacle Giuliani would need to overcome in order to win a primary would be his pro-choice stand on abortion. Giuliani is a Roman Catholic but he supports policies such as abortion rights, which puts him at odds with the Catholic Church. Pro-life groups, such as the Republican National Coalition for Life, have already announced their intention to oppose Giuliani or any other pro-choice candidate,[18] though anecdotal evidence suggests that even among these voters, he enjoys some support.[19] NBC host Chris Matthews and syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker believe that in South Carolina, an early Southern state on the Republican primary calendar, abortion will not be a deciding political issue.[22] Indeed, a recent Rasmussen Reports poll indicates that Giuliani is viewed favorably among Republicans by a 63% to 17% margin.[20] Early 2008 Presidential polls show him with one of the highest levels of name recognition and support.

Even if Giuliani can overcome his relatively liberal record on social issues such as gun control, gay marriage, and abortion, other aspects of his past could be major issues in a presidential campaign, and in attempts to win primaries in the effort to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Giuliani's relationship with Judith Nathan, later to become his third wife, was well-publicized by local media, as it appears to have begun during his marriage to his second wife. Mr. Giuliani, before his divorce, called Judith Nathan, his "very good friend." On May 10, 2000 Mr. Giuliani announced at a press conference that he was seeking a separation from his wife, Donna Hanover -- without first informing her of his decision. Mr. Giuliani went out of his way to praise Judith Nathan as a "very, very fine woman," and said about his marriage with Donna Hanover: "Over the course of some period of time in many ways, we've grown to live independent and separate lives." The mayor's assertion was contradicted three hours later by his former wife, who said, "I had hoped that we could keep this marriage together. For several years, it was difficult to participate in Rudy's public life because of his relationship with one staff member." Ms. Hanover was referring to Cristyne Lategano-Nicholas, the mayor's former communications director. The mayor and Ms. Lategano-Nicholas denied those allegations in the past, and continue to deny them now.

On July 8, 2006, syndicated columnist Robert Novak reported that "well-connected public figures" had been told by Giuliani that "as of now" he planned to run for President.[23] A few days later, Giuliani told a Baltimore crowd that he was "seriously considering" a run.[24] On August 5, 2006, Novak reported that "one of Giuliani's closest friends has confirmed that Giuliani is definitely running for president."[25] A recent Gallup poll found Giuliani to be the most "acceptable" nominee for Republicans, with 73% giving him a thumbs-up and 25% dismissing him as "unacceptable." By this measure, he led both Condoleezza Rice (68%-29%) and John McCain (55%-41%).[26] The same poll also found Giuliani leading the Republican field with 29% support, with John McCain at 24%, Newt Gingrich at 8%, and both Mitt Romney and Bill Frist at 6%.[27]

Draft Rudy Giuliani for President, Inc., registered with Federal Election Commission in October 2005 to become the first federal committee formed with the sole purpose of encouraging former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to run for President of the United States in 2008. As of May 2006, it remained the only federal committee formed for this reason. By law, Draft Rudy Giuliani for President cannot coordinate its activities with the former mayor.

According to the real money presidential futures market run by intrade.com, the odds of Giuliani getting the GOP nomination have ranged from 20-6%. The odds of Giuliani obtaining the presidency have been between 5-11%. Giuliani is the strongest major candidate in the sense of the ratio of his chance of getting elected to his chance of getting nominated.

On November 13, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Rudy Giuliani has taken the first step in seeking presidency in the 2008 Election. He has filed papers to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., creating a panel that would allow him to raise money for a White House run and travel the country.

[edit] Electoral history

* 1997 Race for Mayor (New York City)
o Rudy Giuliani (R) (inc.), 59%
o Ruth Messinger (D), 41%

* 1993 Race for Mayor (New York City)
o Rudy Giuliani (R), 49%
o David Dinkins (D) (inc.), 46%

* 1989 Race for Mayor (New York City)
o David Dinkins (D), 51%
o Rudy Giuliani (R), 49%

[edit] Further reading

* Barrett, Wayne, (2000). RUDY!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Giuliani, Basic Books, ISBN 075676114X (Reprint by Diane Publishing Co.)
* Giuliani, Rudolph W., Kurson, Ken (2002). Leadership (book). Miramax Books. ISBN 0-7868-6841-4.
* Kirtzman, Andrew (2001). Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-009389-7.
* Newfield, Jack, (2003). The Full Rudy: The Man, the Myth, the Mania, Thunder's Mouth Press, ISBN 1560254823
* Polner, Robert, (2005). America's Mayor: The Hidden History of Rudy Giuliani's New York, Soft Skull Press, ISBN 1932360581
* Siegel, Fred (2005). The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life. Encounter Books. ISBN 1-59403-084-7.
* Barrett, Wayne & Collins, Dan (2006). Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-053660-8.

[edit] See also
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Rudy Giuliani

* September 11, 2001 attacks
* New York City
* William J. Bratton (former Police Commissioner of New York City)
* Bernard Kerik (former Police Commissioner of New York City)
* Anthony Rosario
* Howard Safir (former Police Commissioner of New York City)
* Peter Vallone (former Speaker of New York City Council)
* Thomas Von Essen (former Fire Commissioner of New York City)

[edit] External links

* Biography from Global Leaders India Summit 2006
* Giuliani Partners - Rudolph W. Giuliani official profile
* Academy of Achievement Profile http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/giu0pro-1
* Academy of Achievement Biography http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/giu0bio-1
* Academy of Achievement Interview http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/giu0int-1
* Academy of Achievement Photo Gallery http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/giu0gal-1
* Bracewell & Giuliani LLP his law firm's website
* Draft Rudy Giuliani for President a federal committee organized to "Draft Rudy Giuliani" in 2008
* Rudy Giuliani - 2008 Presidential Wire
* Summary Biography from Global Leaders
* GIULIANI TIME the official Web site for the Kevin Keating documentary
* Giuliani Blog Tracking Giuliani's potential 2008 candidacy
* Race 4 2008 A blog devoted to covering the 2008 Republican nomination
* Rudy Can't Fail Student Alliance to Elect Rudy in 2008
* Solutions America Giuliani's website

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Giuliani takes step toward '08 bid, Devlin Barrett, Associated Press, November 13, 2006
2. ^ Richard Bernstein, "New York Times," August 2, 2000.
3. ^ CATHOLIC LEAGUE for Religious and Civil Rights. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
4. ^ American Civil Liberties Union : Civil Liberties Union Files Brief Supporting Brooklyn Museum In Controversy with Mayor Giuliani. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
5. ^ Giuliani Is Ordered to Halt Attacks Against Museum. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
6. ^ Ben Smith, "Rudy's Black Cloud," "New York Daily News," September 18, 2006, p. 14
7. ^ http://www.alternet.org/911oneyearlater
8. ^ http://www.alternet.org/911oneyearlater
9. ^ Ben Smith, "Rudy's Black Cloud," "New York Daily News," September 18, 2006, p. 14
10. ^ http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/08/1349248
11. ^ Conservative Party and Courts May Hold Key to NYC Mayor's Race -- 1 October 2001. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
12. ^ Content Removed. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
13. ^ TIME 2001 Person of the Year: Rudy Giuliani Profile. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
14. ^ Washington Post Wook World Sept 3, 2006[1]
15. ^ REVEREND AL SHARPTON IN NEW SLAM AT RUDY GIULIANI. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
16. ^ Legislative Gazette. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
17. ^ Democrat & Chronicle: Local News. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
18. ^ http://www.renewamerica.us/news/040830parro.htm. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
19. ^ CBS News : Early Signs Point To Giuliani '08 : December 10, 2004 14:33:12. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.
20. ^ Election 2008. Retrieved on November 15, 2005.