From the Department of “He’s Gotta Be Kidding”: Rudy Giuliani is(again) considering whether to jump into the race for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination. The report also suggests Guiliani is inflicted with the same aliment as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, with some of his top people suggesting he may run and others say nah there’s nothing to it. But some activity has apparently gone on that can be qualified as political feelers.
Can we be blunt, Mr. Former Mayor?
Many Americans admired you for your performance on 911.
You were called “America’s Mayor” for a while, then you tried to get the GOP nomination in 2008 and seemed just as partisan and predictable as any partisan Republican or Democrat.
But now your moment is gone.
Over.
Finished.
You make great speeches, are great on TV.
But it ain’t gonna happen even thought many of us still admire parts of who you were and still are.
N-e-v-e-r.
History and your decision to veer from being the kind of person independent voters and even some Democrats felt was not a typical politician mean you can’t go back. There is no time machine for your persona, or the vanishing fresh memory of it, or for the kind of appeal you once had as a politician who was a cut above the rest.
So give it a (long) rest.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.