NY Times
May 16, 2006
NYC
Over Giuliani, a Halo Is Fading
By CLYDE HABERMAN

IT was probably inevitable, and even sort of amazing that it took so
long, but the post-9/11 honeymoon might be over for Rudolph W.
Giuliani.

For nearly five years, the former mayor has been mentioned on the air
and in print mainly in language bordering on the hagiographic. Lately,
though, he has encountered somewhat rougher treatment, more like that
endured by the 9/10 Rudy, whose only political future seemed to be no
future at all.

There was, for example, a long article in Newsday last week on Mr.
Giuliani's partnership with a Houston law firm that has a platinum
lineup of oil industry clients. Gas prices being what they are, this
is hardly a great time for an ambitious politician to land in the same
sentence with the words "big oil."

A harder blow came over the weekend with the theater release of
"Giuliani Time," a film documentary that strives to de-sanctify the
man who remains a Sept. 11 hero in many quarters.

The film does not pistol-whip Mr. Giuliani as ferociously as Michael
Moore did President Bush in "Fahrenheit 9/11." But it will do. Its
themes are that this mayor was indifferent to the suffering of the
poor, tin-eared on race, hostile to the First Amendment and far too
ready to exaggerate his role in reducing crime.

Will Mr. Giuliani be harmed by an occasional negative article or by a
documentary being shown for now in only one theater? Probably not.
Conceivably, "Giuliani Time" could even enhance his standing among the
faithful.

But the road is bound to get bumpier for him as he pursues his White
House dreams. Mr. Giuliani says he has not made up his mind about
running. But if he isn't at least dreaming about 2008, his schedule
sure is funny. The other week, he journeyed to Iowa. On Thursday he
plans to raise money in Georgia for Ralph Reed, the former leader of
the Christian Coalition, now running for lieutenant governor there.

Much of the speculation about the New Yorker's plans has focused on
whether he is too liberal on social issues to suit Republican
conservatives. But if he does try for the presidency, other matters
may surface, especially in light of Mr. Bush's weakness in the polls.
The president's troubles lie to some extent in areas where Mr.
Giuliani has his own record, one likely to upset most Democrats and
maybe some Republicans.

For instance, one anti-Bush complaint is that his White House is
abnormally secretive. The same accusation was hurled at Mayor
Giuliani, who repeatedly denied information to legitimate watchdog
groups, in and out of government. When they took him to court, he
usually lost.

MR. BUSH is criticized by some for his "you're either with us or
against us" stance. Similarly, "doesn't play well with others" defined
Mr. Giuliani's mayoralty. One of his deputy mayors, Rudy Washington,
said bluntly in 1998 that "the Giuliani administration doesn't
negotiate by consensus." He added: "Never do we call people and ask
for their advice and tell us what to do."

Does the Bush White House, as critics charge, claim too much power for
itself at the expense of individual rights? Here, from 1994, is Mr.
Giuliani on a similar theme:

Freedom, he said, doesn't mean doing whatever you want (a point that
most people would find unexceptionable). "Freedom," he continued, "is
about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single
human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion
about what you do."

For Mr. Bush, elections in the Middle East have been of paramount
importance, dye-stained fingers and all. For Mayor Giuliani, elections
were not necessarily sacrosanct. Until it became clear that he would
not succeed, he tried after the 2001 terrorist attacks to circumvent
the election to choose his successor.

Mr. Bush is in a political jam because of a war begun over outlawed
weapons that did not exist. Reality has at times bedeviled Mr.
Giuliani, too. One example is a 1998 speech in which he claimed to
have been the one who rid New York subway trains of spray-painted
graffiti. Actually, the last train scarred that way was yanked from
service five years before he took office — by a state agency not under
the mayor's control.

So you see, if he does choose to run in two years, he may find it ever
tougher to retain secular sainthood. But then, Mr. Giuliani surely
knows that. It may even be the reason he ultimately decides that a run
for the White House isn't worth it.