Giuliani gives spirited defense of President Bush

Honorable Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City
KRT photo

By Maggie Haberman
New York Daily News
(KRT)

NEW YORK - Rudy Giuliani rocked Madison Square Garden on Monday night, lauding President Bush as the man who took the fight to the terrorists after Sept. 11 - and suggesting that John Kerry lacks the determination for such a tough, drawn-out battle.

Drawing cheers, laughs and even leading a brief "New York, New York" chant, Giuliani reveled in the standing ovation of the Republicans. "It feels like a Yankee game," he quipped.

But he quickly turned the spotlight on the President and the war on terror. Ticking off military and diplomatic victories over the Taliban, al-Qaida plotters and Libya, Giuliani said Bush was making good on his vow when he stood on the rubble of the twin towers with a bullhorn and said that those who knocked them down would "hear from us."

"So long as George Bush is president, is there any doubt they will continue to hear from us until we defeat global terrorism?" he declared.

"We need George Bush now more than ever. ... Thank God George Bush is our president."

In stinging contrast, he said, "John Kerry's record of inconsistent positions on combating terrorism gives us no confidence he'll pursue such a determined course."

The man who has been tagged "America's mayor" for his heroics on Sept. 11 headlined the first session of the Republican National Convention - and showcased himself as a potential successor to Bush in 2008 - by graphically recalling the horrors of that day.

"For me, standing below the north tower and looking up and seeing the flames of hell and then realizing that I was actually seeing a man - a human being - jumping from the 101st or 102nd floor drove home to me that we were facing something beyond anything we had ever faced before," Giuliani told the hushed convention. "It took about five or six seconds, but it seemed like 20 minutes to me."

He paid tribute to families of some of the Sept. 11 victims, who sat in Bush's skybox along with Giuliani's wife, Judith Nathan, and some of his top aides. "You are in our prayers and we are in your debt," he said.

Giuliani also entertained the crowd with touching stories that drew guffaws, as when he re-enacted the scene of Bush at Ground Zero helpless in a bear hug from a massive construction worker as nervous Secret Service agents looked on.

Team Bush was relying on the glow of Giuliani's popularity to highlight the president's biggest selling point - his war on terror.

And Giuliani lavished praise on the President, comparing him with Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan. "Since Sept. 11, President Bush has remained rock-solid," he said.

Citing Bush's bold vision, Giuliani said, "President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism but we must also be on offense. ... He dedicated America under his leadership to destroying global terrorism."

While careful to praise Kerry's Vietnam War service, Giuliani said Kerry has a history of changing his position on difficult issues, including the war in Iraq. "He even, at one point, declared himself an antiwar candidate. Now, he says he's pro-war. At this rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times," Giuliani said.

Continuing to mock the Democratic ticket, and triggering prolonged applause and laughter, he added, "Maybe this explains John Edwards' need for two Americas - one where John Kerry can vote for something and another where he can vote against the same thing."

While Bush has been criticized for a go-it-alone style of diplomacy, Giuliani defended it. He blamed the growth of terrorism in recent decades on the effort to appease terrorists by allies like Germany and Italy. "Terrorist acts became a ticket to the international bargaining table," he said.

"How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he was supporting a terrorist plague in the Middle East," said Giuliani, drawing boos from the crowd.

"President Bush will not allow countries that appear to have ignored the lessons of history and failed for over 30 years to stand up to terrorists, to dissuade us from what is necessary for our defense," he said.

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© 2004, New York Daily News.

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