[Marxism] Follow-up to Dan Barry

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dan Barry wrote:

> Go read the reams of stories I wrote about Giuliani as City Hall bureau
> chief. Some of them probably helped to inform the foundation for the movie
> -- especially anything about his lousy relations with black leaders in
> this city. Then go read the many columns I have written about the
> homeless, the chronically inebriated, the disenfranchised. Then go read my
> memoir if you're not yet tired, and find out why ``yuppie'' is a kneejerk
> and thoroughly wrong thing to call me.
> Enough. Hang in there. Take care.

Odd, I couldn't find anything in the documentary that sounded remotely like
this:

The New York Times
October 14, 1998, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section B; Page 3; Column 1; Metropolitan Desk

HEADLINE: Political Memo;
Day of Adulation in Life of a Dues-Paying Mayor

BYLINE:  By DAN BARRY

He began yesterday by reading a children's book about his homeric mayoral
stamina to a cluster of adoring schoolchildren in Manhattan, then ended it
by attending the New York Yankees playoff game in the Bronx. But in
between, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani managed to make a 90-mile side trip --
not to one of the city's other three boroughs, but to Bethlehem, Pa., a
tired steel city in the Lehigh Valley.

The out-of-state stop was purely political in design, a concept not
reflected in "A Day in the Life of a Mayor," the inspirational book that
Mr. Giuliani had shared with youngsters shortly before leaving New York
City. On this day, a more apt title to the book might have been: "A Day in
the Life of a Term-Limited Mayor Currying Favor With Party Bigwigs."

Then again, a certain innocent appeal would have been lost.

As the Bethlehem Catholic High School band played "Soul Man," Mr. Giuliani
passed under an arc of balloons to speak at a get-out-the-vote rally for
local Republicans. Only about 100 people came to a 283-seat hall at Lehigh
University for the event, leaving plenty of empty chairs for party
loyalists to place their campaign placards. Still, those who did attend
gave the guest speaker from New York City a standing ovation, as he once
again explained how Republican philosophies had helped him to reduce crime
and restore hope.

The visit was Mr. Giuliani's third out-of-state political trip in as many
weeks, the others being to Miami and to Los Angeles; he has also recently
traveled to Iowa, South Carolina and Wisconsin, as well as Buffalo. His
wanderings serve three purposes: to help fellow Republicans, to try to
persuade Republican officials to choose New York City as the host city for
the party's national convention in 2000, and to raise his national profile
as he considers his own political future.

But woe unto those who question whether these travels might distract the
Mayor from his municipal responsibilities.

"When I'm there I work 24 hours a day," Mr. Giuliani said, after his speech
in Bethlehem yesterday afternoon. "I think my work week has gone from 90
hours a week to 85. I don't think there's any risk that the people of New
York City are going to worry about how hard I'm working. You go find anyone
who works as hard as I do and introduce them to me."

His comments could have been lifted from the text of "A Day in the Life of
a Mayor," a recent addition to "The Kids' Career Library Series" that was
written by Liza N. Burby. Other books in the series recount the days in the
lives of a park ranger, a professional golfer and a sculptor; but the
publication of those titles probably did not receive quite as much promotion.

Squeezing himself into a child-sized desk at Public School 234, on
Greenwich Avenue between Warren and Chambers Streets, the Mayor turned to a
bank of television cameras and about 25 children to begin the reading. He
wore a microphone on his lapel, while an aide stood at the ready with a
second microphone, just in case one of the children said something cute
enough to be captured for posterity.

The book details some of the demands of a particularly difficult job. It
describes Mr. Giuliani as waking up each day at 6 A.M., working through
lunch, rushing to disasters, finding little time to himself. "During
emergencies, the Mayor makes decisions and tries to calm the people of the
city," the book says.

At times, however, it reads like a plea for Mr. Giuliani's beatification,
or at least like a campaign brochure in the disguise of a primer. He is
praised for broadcasting his own weekly radio program ("Even though he's
very busy, Mayor Giuliani makes time to do the show."), even for holding
basic staff meetings ("After all, he can't be everywhere all the time --
even though he'd like to be! These meetings help Mayor Giuliani solve
problems quickly and effectively ih-FEK-tiv-lee ").

"Mayor Giuliani won two four-year terms," it says toward the end. "In that
time, he has worked hard to cut crime and create new jobs. He loves being
Mayor and that he is able to make a difference in people's lives."

After finishing his reading, Mr. Giuliani asked whether any of the students
would like to be mayor of the city one day. "It's too much work," one child
answered. "You have to take care of everybody."

With that validation, the Mayor rushed off to catch a privately chartered
jet, provided by Pennsylvania Republicans, to Bethlehem. Awaiting him there
was a small but enthusiastic crowd, eager to hear about his urban heroics.

"We'd been looking for a high-profile Republican to come down," said Mike
Crochunis, a spokesman for Pennsylvania's Republican state committee. "He's
kind of like the Republican who has made Republican principles work in the
biggest city in the country."

With that sort of praise ringing in his ears, Mr. Giuliani headed back to
New York City for the rest of a day in the life of this Mayor.


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