I’m not a Rudy fan, and would not vote for him. I don’t see that he has much of a moral base, and I’ve read too much about the bad ways he treats people (which speaks to his character). His ego is astronomical, and he doesn’t tolerate anyone else taking even a portion of his spotlight. Plus, he’s playing the fear card, straight from the Karl Rove Handbook. I detest that.

And I see him continuing and even expanding the imperial presidency which George Bush spawned–a presidency which is not accountable to Congress, views itself as above any checks and balances, that does what it wants in the world without getting anyone else’s approval. And that, to me, is dangerous for our country. George Bush has left us without friends in the world who would come to our aid should we need it. In that way, it endangers our national security.

So that’s how I felt until I read the “Old Habits,” an article about Giuliani in the January 7 New Yorker magazine. The New Yorker has written some fabulous, in-depth articles about the various candidates, all of which provide new light. This article focused on Rudy’s record as mayor, the good and the bad. While he did a lot of good, he left mountains of scorched earth.

He mistreated people. He left few friends. He picked fights out of pure capriciousness. He let his ego run amuck. The city’s largest policeman’s union and the largest firefighter’s union won’t endorse Rudy. “Rudy Giuliani is not the individual he portrays himself to be,” said the head of of the city’s fire officers’ union.

“Rudy was a good mayor in the sense of delivering services,” says former mayor Ed Koch. “He was not a great mayor, because he didn’t respect people.”

Jerome Hauer, who set up Giuliani’s Office of Emergency Management, said this: “From my perspective, Rudy would be a very dangerous President. And I think people need to be very frightened of him. When you look at the way he picked battles unnecessarily as mayor, imagine if he’s got nuclear weapons at his disposal.”