Von Der Grossen Apfel

Andrew Sullivan has been showing a real weakness for Rudy's candidacy. One his readers tries to set him, uh, straight:

It's very far out and lots of things can happen, but here are some initial thoughts about Rudy from a longtime New Yorker who witnessed firsthand what he did (and didn't do) for New York.

1. If you thought Bush was bad with cronyism, wait till this one gets in power. Remember the one protege of his he got into a high government office? Bernie Kerick? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Rudy runs a multimillion-dollar consulting firm whose essential mission is to profit off of 9/11. He's got his finger in a lot of military-industrial pies. If he gets in, watch for a DoD and a DoJ stuffed full of lackeys and yes-men.

2. If you think Bush is insular, wait till this one gets in power. When Rudy was mayor of New York, he absolutely refused to allow anyone around him who disagreed with him in the slightest. He publicly humiliated every Board of Ed president who uttered a peep against him. He rammed through three police commissioners before he found one who knew how to say "Yes, Rudy."

3. If you think Bush is a ham-handed diplomat, wait till this one gets in power. This is, after all, a man who led a personal crusade against hot-dog vendors. This is a man who criticized the parents of kids who got killed by cops for letting them out on the street past 10. This is a man who publicly lectured Arafat (which was sort of fun, but he *was* just a Mayor, not Pope Rudolfus IV). So if you've been entertained by Bush's excruciating gaffes internationally, you'll have 4 more years of fun.

and finally...

Do you honestly think that people will elect a man who wants to keep us in Iraq for four more years? Americans might vote for victory but they won't vote to throw money and lives away just so we can save face. Americans know (and you know, and I know) that "victory" just isn't possible in Iraq, just as it wasn't possible in Vietnam.
Oh, and then there's the fact that he's cavalier about torture, married his cousin, announced his divorce at a press conference, looks creepy and has all the personal warmth of Torquemada.

I know that I personally try to add to Sully's in-box every couple of days with similar, if not so well put, reminders.

And don't even get me started about how much leadership it showed to place your city's emergency management office in the building most likely to be a terrorist target.