He drew a parrallel to their travails, and those of the immigrant 
grandparents of members of most of the audience.

Secondly, Giuliani  pointed to the common thread that holds all us 
Americans,  was our VALUES, that stressed the importance of the 
individual, the opportunity to fulfill our dreams, and our humanitarianism.

He chose the site of his speech, St. Paul's, one block from the WTC 
disaster, that curiously suffered no damage, and that symbolized the 
American Spirit emerging from the attack undaunted. 

St. Paul's also was the place where George Washinton prayed after he 
was inaugurated as the first US President, which reminded us of our 
early "underdog" pioneers of democratic principles, and prompted one to
marvel at how far we have come, to be now viewed as the beacon of hope 
for the entire world.    
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GIULIANI BIDS NEW YORK BIDS FAREWELL 

By Timothy Williams
Associated Press Writer
Los Angeles Times
December 27 2001, 10:49 AM PST

NEW YORK -- Rudolph Giuliani said goodbye today as mayor of the city where he 
has battled critics, crime and the Sept. 11 crisis. He said a "soaring" 
memorial must dominate plans for the rebuilt trade center site...standing on 
an altar one block east of ground zero. 

Giuliani, 57, leaves on the highest note of his administration: his acclaimed 
handling of the city following the terrorist attacks that collapsed the World 
Trade Center and killed more than 2,900 people. 

Giuliani, near the end of his 55-minute address, said he believed the site of 
the collapsed towers should be turned into a "soaring, beautiful memorial" to 
the victims of the attack... 

With less than a week before he leaves office, the mayor told listeners that 
when he took office eight years ago, he was determined to take a different 
approach from his predecessors-- even though he knew it would cause 
"hostility and anger" among critics. 

"When I became mayor of New York City in 1993, it seemed to me that I had to 
do something different than other mayors," Giuliani said. "It seemed I had to 
totally change the direction and course of New York City." 

During his time in office, Giuliani helped drastically slash the city's crime 
rates, renovated Times Square and made New York a tourist attraction once 
again. For his efforts after Sept. 11, he was named Time magazine's "person 
of the year."...

Giuliani, comfortable in front of a friendly crowd...spoke at St. Paul's 
Chapel in lower Manhattan, a pre-Revolutionary War Episcopal church one block 
east of the trade center ruins. 

The mayor described the church as "hallowed ground," noting that George 
Washington prayed there following his inauguration in 1789. He also pointed 
out that the church emerged unscathed Sept. 11, without even a single window 
broken. 

Giuliani, a Republican, was barred by term limits law from seeking a third 
consecutive term. His last day in City Hall will be Dec. 31, with the man he 
endorsed-- billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg-- taking over on New 
Year's Day. 

Giuliani was expected to swear Bloomberg in at a brief ceremony around 
midnight in Times Square.