Friday, August 17, 2007

Rudy Reconsidered

I'm not best pleased to learn that America's Mayor said this: "I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers ... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them."

The facts are otherwise. [Granted, the 29 hours are from 9/16 onward; still: it isn't like he ever lifted a shovel.]

Also, I've been trying, without much luck, to figure out the basis for Rudy's bonafides as a "terrorism fighter." Aside from his boneheaded decision to put the city's command center at 7 WTC, I haven't been able to find anything.

Oh. And the Freakonomics people said in their book that Rudy doesn't really deserve all the credit for the decline in crime. They say it was reflective of a national trend, a trend that had more to do with Roe v. Wade than anything else. (The authors argue, using lots of data, and the magical power of statistics, that crime went down in America in the early 90s because most crimes are committed by maladjusted young men and, thanks to Roe v. Wade, there were a lot less of them running around)

So what does this guy have going for him other then the tough talk?

No comments: