An e-mail:
J-Pod has hit on an important point that’s worth considering . . .
Rudy has done a great job as mayor of NYC because he is intimately familiar with the day-to-day functioning of the city and its culture. He does not have that intimacy with the nation as a whole, and if he attempts to approach national issues based on his NYC experiences he will run afoul of the population who are most certainly not coastal/urban/liberal in orientation, nature, and attitude.
To think that he would make a good President because he was a good mayor is simply wishful thinking that ignores the reality of his political history.
UPDATE: Another e-mail:
That reader’s logic about Rudy doesn’t hold water when you extend that philosophy to governors who want to be president. For example, that’s the equivalent of saying George W. Bush wasn’t equipped to be president because he was familiar with the day-to-day functioning of a southwestern state only. Let’s not forget that being mayor of NYC is the equivalent of being governor in some states. It’s that big and diverse.