Rudy? Nyet, nyet, nyet!

There are a lot of reasons to admire Rudy Giulani. His management of New York City in the aftermath of the 9/11 bombings is perhaps foremost among them. Depending on your politics, there are also a lot of reasons to not like Rudy, and to hope that reports that he will likely run for President in 2008 are untrue. To my mind, most significant among Rudy’s negatives is the fact that he built his name and career on a string of dubious securities fraud and insider trading prosecutions in the 1980’s while he was the US Attorney for the Southern Dis trict of Manhattan. He exhibited a greater concern for publicity than truth, insisting that high profile defendants, many indicted on questionable facts and dubious legal theories, be frog marched out of their offices in handcuffs and before the cameras. When it comes to a Giulani candidacy, I have to say, as George H.W. Bush did during the 1988 Presidential race (in response to a question that I forget) “Nyet, nyet, nyet.”