Bye Bye, Rudy

If only....

If only Rudy Giuliani had left the office of the mayor of New York City on December 31, 2001 and gracefully submitted himself to a dignified retirement, living out his days as an elder statesman of the Republican party; our mental image of him today would be as "America's mayor", the hero of September 11, 2001. What a difference twenty years makes. 

As John Lennon once sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

His historical legacy has been forever shattered. This truth was only hammered home this past week when he was suspended - perhaps permanently - from practicing law in the state of New York. Rudy's great mistake was entering into the orbit of former-president Donald J. Trump. Past experience tells us that coming into contact with Trump on any level can be a career-destroying thing. Giuliani has not only ruined his reputation due to his continuous hawking of the lie that the Democrats stole the 2020 election, he is in the process of being investigated by the very office he once sat at the head of. He could very well wind up doing a serious stint in the slammer. No doubt about it: this is not a good time to be Rudy Giuliani.

I would almost hope that a court of law would be lenient with poor old Rudy. For the last two or so years it has become painfully apparent that the man has lost more-than-a-few of his marbles. This is most definitely not the Rudy of yore. He always had a somewhat unintentionally goofy side, but this latest incarnation is something else indeed. He is obviously deeply disturbed and quite pathetic. This is not a man who is thinking clearly. He needs to be committed to some cozy facility out in the country and spoon-fed oatmeal. I once met the future mayor of New York back in the eighties on the corner of 86th Street and Madison Avenue. He seemed like such a sensible and rational fellow. I wonder what happened.

Perhaps I'm being cruel. When I started writing this piece this morning it's working title was "Bye Bye, Bird Brain". That's a little too much, I think. Why kick a man when he is down about as low as a public figure can go? But it cannot be denied that Giuliani has dug his own grave in this matter. As too many have found out the hard way, associating with Donald Trump can be lethal to one's professional life. Just ask Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen. The road is littered with the bodies of people who were foolish enough to attach themselves to Donald Trump's star.

Yeah, the decades-long public life of Rudolph William Louis Giuliani is kaput. We're talking fried and cindered here. There is no use going out on a rehabilitation tour; that option has long been out of the question. The man needs to lock himself away and pray that the American people forget about him.

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY

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