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there any doubt that the great public performer in the days following
the September 11 attacks has been Rudy Giuliani? He has demonstrated
remarkable leadership during the awful hours since Tuesday morning
— and in every way possible, from his rhetoric ("more
than we can bear") to his presence (walking around the wreckage
in N.Y.F.D. duds). His somber confidence is exactly what New York
City needs — and it's what the rest of the country needs, too.
The man who was born to be mayor is a comfort to all Americans this
week.
What a shame
that he must leave office in just a few months. Every so often a
figure comes along who is a walking advertisement against term limits.
Conservatives skeptical about term limits — so popular in their
ranks — often have made a two-word argument against them: Henry
Hyde. Giuliani may have belonged in that category for what he accomplished
before Tuesday as mayor; he surely belongs there now.
So why not
let him run again? The unworthies who seek to replace him, from
four ultraliberal Democrats to faux Republican Michael Bloomberg,
are pathetic pols compared to this urban statesman. They show that
some leaders simply can't be replaced.
And perhaps
he shouldn't be replaced. If New Yorkers want Rudy for four more
years — and assuming Hizzoner wants to keep serving —
they should start demanding it now, while there's still time to
see that it happens.
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