He is still the same man who presided over New York's remarkable 
comeback in the 1990s while managing to alienate nearly half of the city 
at one time or another.

The mayor has generated headlines--and sparked controversy--by talking 
sharply to the people with whom he disagrees.

 The leader who helped rally a wounded city during its darkest days and 
inspired the nation?

"I've always believed that you have to tell people exactly what you're thinking. 
If they like it, fine. If they don't, that's also OK. I don't believe in spinning things 
to the point where I can't be true to myself."
 
They tend to forget that his oversized personality works well in some 
situations and not so well in others.

He was the mayor who showed that New York indeed was governable.

Giuliani is riding a wave of adulation that most politicians never experience.

Few are discounting Giuliani's ability to bounce back into public life in 
the near future.
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A CONSTANT GIULIANI LET'S GO 
THE REINS OF AN ALTERED N.Y.

Legacy: The mayor with an 'oversized personality' wins fans after terrorist 
attacks. His political future intrigues many.

By Josh Getlin
Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times
December 27 2001

NEW YORK -- They had lined up around the block to see him, about 300 people 
on a cold night in Brooklyn, and Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani didn't disappoint. 
It was his last town hall meeting before leaving office Tuesday, a chance to 
say goodbye. And the visit quickly turned into a love fest.

"Rudy, don't go!" people shouted as he entered the Bay Ridge community hall. 
The mayor basked in cheers, signing autographs and posing for pictures. But 
the mood soured when the mother of a policeman rose to ask a question: Why 
didn't the city give officers a long overdue pay raise?

Giuliani's smile faded into a dismissive glare. His jaw tightened, and he 
berated the woman for even raising the issue: "What you did isn't right," he 
said curtly. "I can't negotiate a contract with you now. You shouldn't have 
done this." The woman sat down in stunned silence.

What had happened to the compassionate, heroic man who led New York after the 
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the leader who helped rally a wounded city during 
its darkest days and inspired the nation?

To veteran observers, there was nothing unusual about Giuliani's behavior. 
>From the moment he took office in 1994, the mayor has generated 
headlines--and sparked controversy--by talking sharply to the people with 
whom he disagrees. Even though his brusque and aggressive leadership style 
has been muted somewhat by the World Trade Center disaster, he is still the 
same man who presided over New York's remarkable comeback in the 1990s while 
managing to alienate nearly half of the city at one time or another.

"I haven't changed that much since Sept. 11," Giuliani, 57, said at a recent 
news conference. "I've always believed that you have to tell people exactly 
what you're thinking. If they like it, fine. If they don't, that's also OK. I 
don't believe in spinning things to the point where I can't be true to 
myself."

As he leaves office, Giuliani is riding a wave of adulation that most 
politicians never experience. In addition to titles like Time magazine's 
Person of the Year and an honorary knighthood from the Queen of England, he's 
been serenaded at farewell banquets by entertainers such as Tony Bennett, 
Bette Midler and Natalie Cole. The once-hostile local press has lavishly 
praised his empathy and integrity.

When he leaves office at the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve, Citizen Rudy 
faces a potentially dazzling future.

He plans to form a high-powered business consulting firm with some of his 
mayoral aides. He has signed a reported $3-million, two-book contract with 
Talk Miramax Books and will publish "Rudy's Rules," a guide to management 
techniques, early next year. The second book will be Giuliani's memoirs. The 
mayor also is expected to hit the national and international lecture circuit, 
likely making $100,000 per speech.

But it is his political future that intrigues most pundits.

Giuliani suffered his only post-Sept. 11 public relations setback when he 
failed to secure a three-month extension in office, something he said was 
intended to help his successor adjust to the job. Political opposition from 
black and Latino leaders doomed that bid, yet few are discounting Giuliani's 
ability to bounce back into public life in the near future.

"His first real opportunity might be going after [Democratic Sen. Charles E.] 
Schumer's job [in 2004] and then Hillary [Rodham] Clinton's Senate seat after 
that," said former New York Mayor Edward I. Koch.

Although Giuliani pointedly has ruled out running for governor against the 
incumbent Republican George Pataki, a recent Quinnipiac Poll showed him to be 
the overwhelming favorite of most New York voters for that post. And the 
mayor has teasingly refused to rule out the notion of returning to City Hall 
in four or eight years. But some experts believe he ultimately may seek the 
White House, given his booming national popularity.

"He could make this kind of a bid if he wants it," said Thomas Kessner, a 
history professor at City University of New York and a biographer of former 
Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. "Rudy has probably built up enough support around 
the country to consider this. The only question is when."

There are significant obstacles, to be sure. Giuliani's brand of 
Republicanism--pro-gun control, pro-gay rights and pro-abortion rights--might 
not play well with the party's more conservative base. There also is an 
unusual pattern in Gotham politics: Since 1868, when John Hoffman was elected 
governor, no New York mayor has won higher office after leaving City Hall.

Giuliani's ability to beat the curse will depend on how shrewdly he keeps 
himself in the limelight after his term ends, experts say. Joseph Mercurio, a 
veteran GOP consultant, predicted that the mayor will remain an outspoken and 
respected voice in local politics long after he leaves office. Others, like 
Kessner, suggested he may have to step back for several years.

"We're heading into rough economic times, and Rudy needs to distance himself 
from all this," Kessner said. "But given his history, I think he'll know how 
to keep himself in the public eye--and in a positive way."

As speculation mounts and the clock runs out on Giuliani's mayoralty, New 
Yorkers might have understood if he'd chosen to simply coast through his last 
days in office. But he has kept up a whirlwind of activity, pursuing 
last-minute plans to build new baseball stadiums for the Yankees and Mets, 
plus other projects.

More important, he has refused to sugarcoat his comments or political 
style--whether he's warning New York City residents about the threat of 
future terrorist attacks or dressing down the mother of a police officer.

"People make the mistake of saying there's one Rudy who we knew before Sept. 
11 and another afterward," said Fred Siegel, a New York City historian and 
political observer. "They tend to forget that his oversized personality works 
well in some situations and not so well in others. By and large, he's had a 
profound impact on the way this city does business."

A Republican reformer, Giuliani led a more aggressive brand of law 
enforcement and presided over a 62% drop in violent crime since 1993. He 
slashed welfare rolls, promoted the restoration of Times Square as a tourist 
site and cut taxes to spur growth in all five of the city's boroughs.

Although history may remember him chiefly for his actions after Sept. 11, 
Giuliani had laid claim to an impressive political legacy long before: He was 
the mayor who showed that New York indeed was governable.

Yet there were low points that tarnished his achievements. He defended 
controversial "stop and frisk" programs that angered Latinos and blacks. To 
this day, many blame him for such racially tinged incidents as the killing of 
West African immigrant Amadou Diallo, an unarmed street peddler who was shot 
41 times by four white officers.

"The question we're going to ask about Rudy is whether the last three months, 
when he acted so magnificently, can cancel out the last 7 1/2 years, when he 
bullied so many people," said Koch. "You can't just sweep this under the rug."

The police salary issue is a good example. Although Giuliani long has praised 
the New York Police Department for its role in cutting crime, his 
administration has been at loggerheads for several years with officers over 
the size of a proposed pay raise. Privately, many rank-and-file officers are 
bitter that the mayor has not been more of an ally on salary matters.

For now, however, Giuliani's legacy seems golden. He is enjoying a greater 
burst of popularity as he leaves office than any other American politician in 
recent memory, experts say. Former Presidents Kennedy and Franklin D. 
Roosevelt were memorialized by a grateful nation, but they were no longer 
living when the tributes poured in, political historian Robert Dallek noted. 
While former President Reagan was praised when he stepped down, he also was 
dogged by the continuing shadow of the Iran-Contra affair.

"What Rudy is enjoying right now is a highly unusual situation in our 
political history," Dallek said. "There's a surge boosting him, a national 
outpouring of affection. Nobody has experienced this to such a degree."

It's been a dramatic turnaround for a man who began this year as a lame-duck 
mayor, foundering in a sea of personal problems. His bitterly contested 
divorce from Donna Hanover was playing out on the front pages, and he seemed 
exhausted by his battle with prostate cancer. All indications are that he has 
beaten the disease.

Sept. 11 changed everything. Giuliani was energized by the crisis, and 
suddenly he was everywhere--providing leadership that, initially at least, 
seemed to surpass that of President Bush. Some even compared him to Winston 
Churchill during the bombing of London. Overnight, the mayor became an 
international celebrity and his private life became irrelevant.

These days, Giuliani's impromptu appearances on the sidewalks of New York 
spark excited, emotional reactions from residents and tourists alike. When he 
and girlfriend Judith Nathan shopped for gifts recently on Manhattan's swank 
57th Street, people mobbed them as if they were movie stars.

Giuliani will administer the oath of office at midnight in Times Square to 
his successor, media mogul and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, and then 
transition to private life. As his tenure ends, there's a distinct sense that 
he has become the city's unofficial father, helping people recover from 
disaster and preparing them to face an uncertain future. Many still can't 
believe he's leaving.

He made his last appearance on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" two weeks ago and 
engaged in a telling exchange with "Weekend Update" hosts Tina Fey and Jimmy 
Fallon. The three sang "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" as the audience 
broke into emotional cheers for the departing mayor.

"Let me get this straight: You really have to go?" asked Fey. Giuliani smiled 
paternally and said: "Yes, I do. And you can't come with me."