So we justifiably take Pride in the Accomplishment and Recognition of "one of 
our own", as we do in the case of Rudy Giuliani.

My enthusiasm is somewhat dulled however, by Giuliani's continued "adoration"
of 'The Sopranos', and "dressups" as a Mobster.

Guiliani was first widely regarded when as NY District Attorney, he undertook
a "Full Press" enormously successful Attack on the Mafia, citing as an aside, 
that the Mafia had been largely responsible for degrading the image of the 
Italian American.

Guiliani then successfully pursued the perpetrators of the "Junk Bond Scandal",
that propelled him into the Mayoralty of New York, upon which Guiliani then 
soon after started his Mobster "imitations" and adoration of The Sopranos.

I have difficulty rationalizing these apparent contradictions of, his early 
criticism of the Mafia, and his later embracing of the Mafia.  

==================================================
Response to Terror

GIULIANI IS 'PERSON OF YEAR' FOR 
LEADERSHIP IN FACE OF ATTACKS 

Title: Time said the exiting New York mayor was the easy choice in a field 
that included President Bush and Osama bin Laden.

By Josh Getlin
Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times
December 24 2001

NEW YORK -- Capping a year in which he won international praise for his 
courage and was made an Honorary Knight by the Queen of England, New York 
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was named "Person of the Year" Sunday by Time 
magazine for his leadership after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The magazine, which has given out the title every year since 1927 to the 
person who has most affected the news, said Giuliani's compassion and 
strength in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center were 
"extraordinary and compelling." The mayor beat out other candidates, 
including Osama bin Laden and President Bush, according to Time managing 
editor Jim Kelly.

"Giuliani managed to touch us emotionally in a way that nobody else did, 
including the president," Kelly said, explaining the magazine's selection 
process. "He led by emotions, not just by words and actions. And in an 
emotional year like this one, he deserved to be person of the year." The 
mayor, sounding humble at a City Hall news conference, thanked the 
magazine--but said the award really honored the people of New York. "I 
believe that I wasn't selected, but they were selected because of the brave 
and heroic way in which they responded from the first moment to the worst 
attack on the U.S. in our history," Giuliani said. "This really honors them."

When he first got the news early Sunday morning, the mayor said: "I was very 
stunned. I said: 'Wow,' and I thought it was strange--it's hard to think of 
yourself that way. But then I thought in terms of the people of New York. If 
something really goes wrong in the city, you can blame the mayor. So I guess 
I got all the credit for resting on the shoulders of people who have had one 
of the most heroic three months any people have ever had."

In its bestowing of the title, the magazine acknowledged the mayor's often 
brusque and abrasive style but nonetheless praised the 57-year-old Giuliani 
"for being brave when required and rude when appropriate and tender without 
being trite." Tireless and determined to rally the city's spirits, the 
magazine said, he has attended more than 200 funerals of people who were lost 
in the attacks.

Kelly said he made the final decision himself after consulting with 
colleagues and considering the opinions of readers--thousands of whom wrote 
in with their own nominees. He said he knew within hours after the Sept. 11 
attacks that the magazine's choice for Person of the Year would be someone 
directly connected with those events. The choice of the mayor, he said, was 
easy to make, given Giuliani's handling of the situation.

The mayor's actions within minutes of the first plane hitting the World Trade 
Center were "truly remarkable," said Kelly, who reviewed numerous television 
videotapes of the attacks and the aftermath. After racing to the site and 
almost losing his life in a collapsing building, the editor said, Giuliani 
"was with us hour by hour, giving people courage not just in New York but 
around the country. He rose to the challenge with flying colors."

The title further boosts Giuliani's image, which had been badly tarnished in 
the months before Sept. 11. A mayor who was embroiled in a messy divorce from 
his estranged wife, Giuliani was galvanized in the final months of his second 
term by the terror attacks. He has won praise, even from longtime critics, 
and will leave office Jan. 1 on a high note.

Asked in a CNN interview if the magazine had dodged a readers' backlash by 
passing over Bin Laden, Kelly said the terrorist was either dead or on the 
run, and was not a charismatic figure like Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler, who 
were named Man of the Year in 1941 and 1938, respectively.

Bin Laden "is a moral pipsqueak, he is not a man of towering strength," Kelly 
said. He called Bin Laden someone "who is clearly on the losing end of things 
now."