COVER STORY: RUDY’S ROOTS

Growing Up Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani was raised to understand that fine, blurry line between saint and sinner. The making of his moral code.

By Evan Thomas and Suzanne Smalley | NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Dec 3, 2007

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  • Posted By: reginaldlaurino @ 01/03/2008 5:45:02 PM

    How can exclude the fact that this man is a racist. If you really want to be objective tell the truth I suggest that who ever wrote this article is not well informed. Get the facts if you want the truth.

  • Posted By: bovesteve @ 12/10/2007 11:53:08 PM

    I am a first generation Italian American born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and currently living in the Chicago Metro area. I am a former Republican who will vote Democratic across the board in the upcoming 2008 election. I read the article and was disgusted by the innuendos about mob connections which is the typical anti Italian trash I expected from the media but not from Newsweek. The references to "looming dark Catholic Churches" was another obvious anti-Catholic comment that has no merits in Newsweek. By the way, when Rudy grew up in East Flatbush the Italian American population was small and was dwarfed by the Jewish community which predominated in Flatbush, East Flatbush and nearby Crown Heights. Shame on Newsweek for allowing such trash to be printed.

  • Posted By: logdrive @ 12/03/2007 9:43:59 AM

    Don't you people have anything better to do than to recycle articles from last March.

  • Posted By: logdrive @ 12/03/2007 9:43:10 AM

    Don't you people have anything better to do than recycle articles from last March

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/03/2007 1:11:15 AM

    WHO IS BEST QuALIFIED AND BATTLE TESTED NOMINEE: Let me answer my own questions. The most qualified person on the Republican side capable of leading this country is John McCain This is based on facts and history not madness and "unproven truths". He is a man that is battled tested. The worst candidate on the Republican side is Nick Romney. This guy is turning into a pathalogical liar. The way he flip-flops on issues leaves me dizzy. This guy will say anything to get into office. You cannot trust what he is saying he just changes his opinions based on what is popular, especially on issues like immigration and abortion. Niether him or Guliani(this nut wants to build a wall any president that wants to build a wall is a divi der not a unifer) are ready to be President. The argument that John McCain looks mad all the time is not proper criteria to judge a President. Look at Abraham Lincoln appearance. John McCain has the courage skill and experience to be President. No one else in the Republican party even comes close. It would be hard to vote against John considering his resume. People get blitz by the media. They put Guliani and Romney as front runners and give Macain no respect because they say he looks mad all the time. He not angry he is just serious is not a clown like these other Republican candidates. I am really disappointed on how Gulliani and Romney would deal with major issues. These candidates would definetly be divisive. They are not experienced enough to stick by their guns. If people educate themselves there is just no way they can say that Romney and Guiliani compare to McCcain. McCain can bring people on both sides of the isle together because he commands much respect. He knows what are brave men and women are going through in Iraq. The man is a soldier, statesmen and gentlemen. I do not know if I would vote for him in a Presedential election(I would have to learn more about his domestic policies) but he has long had my respect and admiration. What do you Republicans think?? Do you think anyone in your party has better qualifications and experience than McCain. And please do not tell me that Romney's experience of organizing the Olympics compares to Macain's experience. Please do not tell me that Gulliani can run Washington better than McCain. Guilliani will cave under pressure, who knows what that man does in private. I can tell you that Macain would never be caught in a dress.

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/03/2007 12:43:37 AM

    Comment: Comment: Let me answer my own questions. The most qualified person on the Republican side capable of leading this country is John McCain This is based on facts and history not madness and "unproven truths". He is a man that is battled tested. The worst candidate on the Republican side is Nick Romney. This guy is turning into a pathalogical liar. The way he flip-flops on issues leaves me dizzy. This guy will say anything to get into office. You cannot trust what he is saying he just changes his opinions based on what is popular, especially on issues like immigration and abortion. Niether him or Guliani(this nut wants to build a wall any president that wants to build a wall is a divi der not a unifer) are ready to be President. The argument that John McCain looks mad all the time is not proper criteria to judge a President. Look at Abraham Lincoln appearance. John McCain has the courage skill and experience to be President. No one else in the Republican party even comes close. It would be hard to vote against John considering his resume. People get blitz by the media. They put Guliani and Romney as front runners and give Macain no respect because they say he looks mad all the time. He not angry he is just serious is not a clown like these other Republican candidates. I am really disappointed on how Gulliani and Romney would deal with major issues. These candidates would definetly be divisive. They are not experienced enough to stick by their guns. If people educate themselves there is just no way they can say that Romney and Guiliani compare to McCcain. McCain can bring people on both sides of the isle together because he commands much respect. He knows what are brave men and women are going through in Iraq. The man is a soldier, statesmen and gentlemen. I do not know if I would vote for him in a Presedential election(I would have to learn more about his domestic policies) but he has long had my respect and admiration. What do you Republicans think?? Do you think anyone in your party has better qualifications and experience than McCain. And please do not tell me that Romney's experience of organizing the Olympics compares to Macain's experience. Please do not tell me that Gulliani can run Washington better than McCain. Guilliani will cave under pressure, who knows what that man does in private. I can tell you that Macain would never be caught in a dress.

  • Posted By: motorvoter @ 12/02/2007 4:13:45 AM

    Comment: Giuliani should be president because he has proven himself in the toughest arena - New York City. The city was a bad place to live and work when Mr. Dinkins was Mayor. Crime was soaring, the welfare rolls were huge. As I have stated before, there were young grandparents, parents and children on welfare. These were entire generations who had never held a job. The Liberal Democrats kicked and screamed every step of the way when Rudy Giuliani took measures to reduce the crime rate - a huge drop in crime. The Liberal Democrats were angry when Giuliani moved people from welfare into paying jobs. Giuliani made the tough decisions and the good people of New York City benefitted greatly. Giuliani lowered taxes. Businesses moved back to the city because of these changes. More business meant more jobs for New Yorkers. Also benefitting were people who lived in Nassau and Suffolk counties (out on the Island) and people who lived in Connecticut - many of whom commuted to jobs. Giuliani also put a lot of major Mafia bosses in prison. The Liberal Democrats and the Liberal media do not want Giuliani to be the Republican candidate for President. They want anyone other than Giuliani because they know that they cannot bend him to their will. They cannot make him follow their agenda. Giuliani is a leader. He is exactly the man we should elect for President. Newsweek, CNN and the rest of the Democrat Liberal media think that they can continue to con Republican voters into doing what they (the Liberals) want. Rudy Giuliani is the one person who has proven himself over and over again to be a leader. The future will be brighter and our nation will be safer with Rudy Giuliani as President. God bless the United States of America - the greatest country on earth.

    • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/03/2007 12:34:56 AM

      Guilliani had to forfeit his participation in the New York Senate race because of health reasons. Take a good look at George Bush Senior and Vice President Dick Cheney. I think that McCain's health is a legitimate concern but he is not dead yet and has shown that he is more than capable of handling the job. In this case, McCain's age should be an asset , America needs an experienced, "battle tested" President. Like Dwight Eisenhower. Roosevelt was one of America's most successful President's and he had a disability. John McCain is a lot stronger than the other candidates do not let age fool you, however health is always a legitimate concern. America is the greatest country on earth, do you know what Guilliani does in private, do you feel comfortable.

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/03/2007 12:32:59 AM

    Guilliani had to forfeit his participation in the New York Senate race because of health reasons. Take a good look at George Bush Senior and Vice President Dick Cheney. I think that McCain's health is a legitimate concern but he is not dead yet and has shown that he is more than capable of handling the job. In this case, McCain's age should be an asset , America needs an experienced, "battle tested" President. Like Dwight Eisenhower. Roosevelt was one of America's most successful President's and he had a disability. John McCain is a lot stronger than the other candidates do not let age fool you, however health is always a legitimate concern.

  • Posted By: motorvoter @ 12/02/2007 4:08:46 AM

    Giuliani should be president because he has proven himself in the toughest arena - New York City. The city was a bad place to live and work when Mr. Dinkins was Mayor. Crime was soaring, the welfare rolls were huge. As I have state before, there were young grandparents, parents and children on welfare. These were entire generations who had never held a job. The Liberal Democrats kicked and screamed every step of the way when Rudy Giuliani took measures to reduce the crime rate - a huge drop in crime. The Liberal Democrats were angry when Giuliani moved people from welfare into paying jobs. Giuliani made the tough decisions and the good people of New York City benefitted greatly. Giuliani lowered taxes. Businesses moved back to the city because of these changes. More business meant more jobs for New Yorkers. Also benefitting were people who lived in Nassau and Suffolk counties (out on the Island) and people who lived in Connecticut - many of whom commuted to jobs. Giuliani also put a lot of major Mafia bosses in prison. The Liberal Democrats and the Liberal media do not want Giuliani to be the Republican candidate for President. They want anyone other than Giuliani because they know that they cannot bend him to their will. They cannot make him follow their agenda. Giuliani is a leader. He is exactly the man we should elect for President. Newsweek, CNN and the rest of the Democrat Liberal media think that they can continue to con Republican voters into doing what they (the Liberals) want. Rudy Giuliani is the one person who has proven himself over and over again to be a leader. The future will be brighter and our nation will be safer with Rudy Giuliani as President. God bless the United States of America - the greatest country on earth.

  • Posted By: kmackenziejortner @ 12/01/2007 5:39:46 PM

    Is Newsweek running a personal smear campaign against Giuliani? Did I miss some fued between this supposed news magazine and this presidential candidate? This is the worst news article I've read in a long time. Besides the fact that it is totally unbiased, it sounds more like a celebrity gossip column than a well-researed and thought-out political article? ("Did you hear about Rudy's Dad?" should be the title of this article). I'm ashamed to have even read the entire article, but I kept holding out hope that the author would summarily insert some real political and newsworthy commentary at the end of the article. My hopes were, however, unfounded. I am not even a supporter of Giuliani and I still find this article completely insulting. Please maintain your standards for news, Mr. Meacham.

  • Posted By: Joe B. @ 11/26/2007 7:24:24 PM

    This article glosses pretty quickly over Giuliani's extremely disturbing friendship with the accused child molester Alan Placa. For a much fuller accounting, check out this clip on youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Db2UPUkGyw . An important point the article fails to mention is that Placa only escaped prosecution because the statute of limitations had run out. Frankly, I find it mind-boggling that Giuliani can be a front-runner when he protects and coddles people like Placa and Kerik.

    • Posted By: hbradar @ 11/27/2007 1:16:46 AM

      Can you relate similar feelings that you may have regarding Mrs Clinton's enabling her husbands extramarital transgressions, his disrespect for his office -where he entertained himself while carrying on the business of the land. Her attacks on the accusers of her husbands rape accusations. Did this bother you at all. Does it bother you today? hmmm . Why do I doubt that you have any concerns about these 'things'

      • Posted By: dirkdingy @ 12/01/2007 5:08:27 PM

        cheating on your wife is scandalous and bad but by no means depraved or illegal;however, fondling or sodomizing little boys while in a position of authority is among the fowlest of all trangressions known to mankind. besides, it's blatantly apparent that bill and hillary had a de facto open relationship.

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/01/2007 4:32:23 PM

    You are right, America is a great country and unfortunately people hate us. So I suggest that you support McCain, a soldier,statesmen, and gentlemen. Not some clown who dresses up like he is ready to be President. Giulliani is local not national, what is good for New York is not good for the rest of the country. You cannot skip a step smile at people and think you can Weezel your way to the Presidency. Guilliani is a prosecutor who belongs in the department of Homeland security kicking some terrorist ass. Who knows what Gulliani really does in private. I can gurantee you that you would never catch McCain in a dress. We need a President that repects America and has the skill, courage and unwavering determination to deal with foreign and domestic issues.

  • Posted By: motorvoter @ 12/01/2007 8:37:22 AM

    Comment: Giuliani is the one Republican candidate that the Liberal Democrats fear. Liberals didn't care when Dinkins was mayor of New York City. The crime rate soared while Dinkins was mayor. The welfare rolls were huge and growing. There were young grandparents, parents and children on welfare - entire generations who had never held a job. The liberals considered these welfare recipients future voters and encouraged the deterioration of society. Giuliani became mayor and everything changed for the better. Crime dropped dramatically, huge numbers of people moved from receiving welfare into paying jobs, businesses returned to the city creating more jobs, taxes dropped and the quality of life for all New Yorkers (except for the criminals - they went to prison) improved. Criminals, their friends and families are furious that Giuliani put them behind bars. He put major mafia people in prison also. Giuliani did all of that for New York City. Mayor Dinkins did nothing. Mayor Koch was a joke. Those two still hate Giuliani because he showed them for the incompetents they were and still are. The liberals cannot bend Giuliani to their will. They would rather that any of the other Republican candidates be chosen in the primaries except him. That is why the Democrat Liberals and their media stooges are going after this man with such ferocity. Giuliani will be a great President. I hope that other Republicans will start realizing that the Democrat Liberals know that Giuliani can beat them and that he will not allow them to continue to destroy our country - the greatest on earth.

  • Posted By: motorvoter @ 12/01/2007 8:32:45 AM

    Giuliani is the one Republican candidate that the Liberal Democrats fear. Liberals didn't care when Dinkins was mayor of New York City. The crime rate soared while Dinkins was mayor. The welfare rolls were huge and growing. There were young grandparents, parents and children on welfare - entire generations who had never held a job. The liberals considered these welfare recipients future voters and encouraged the deterioration of society. Giuliani became mayor and everything changed for the better. Crime dropped dramatically, huge numbers of people moved from receiving welfare into paying jobs, businesses returned to the city creating more jobs, taxes dropped and the quality of life for all New Yorkers (except for the criminals - they went to prison) improved. Criminals, their friends and families are furious that Giuliani put them behind bars. He put major mafia people in prison also. Giuliani did all of that for New York City. Mayor Dinkins did nothing. Mayor Koch was a joke. Those two still hate Giuliani because he showed them for the imcompetents they were and still are. The liberals cannot bend Giuliani to their will. They would rather that any of the other Republican candidates be chosen in the primaries except him. That is why the Democrat Liberals and their media stooges are going after this man with such ferocity. Giuliani will be a great President. I hope that other Republicans will start realizing that the Democrat Liberals know that Giuliani can beat them and that he will not allow them to continue to destroy our country - the greatest on earth.

  • Posted By: borntoraisehogs @ 12/01/2007 12:52:35 AM

    Am I the only Viet Nam vet who is appalled by the thought of a commander in chief who , got deferments, dropped out of ROTC , and stated the war was unjust by
    catholic standards.

  • Posted By: thereoncewasamerica @ 11/30/2007 12:04:20 PM

    Read this recent hidden story and wake up like I did:
    http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Rudy_Giuliani_and_his_connections_to_1129.html

  • Posted By: thereoncewasamerica @ 11/30/2007 12:03:13 PM

    Read this and wake up like I did:
    http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Rudy_Giuliani_and_his_connections_to_1129.html

  • Posted By: wjky5 @ 11/30/2007 11:01:03 AM

    Your facts on the Rudy Giuliani story are not correct. I lived in Garden City in 1954 and there was no Little League until 1957 or 1958. The public high school was one of the best in NY and certainly no blackboard jungle. There were two catholic grade schools and most of the Catholic boy students would go to Chaminade (which cost very little money to attend) and not commute to Brooklyn. So maybe Rudy moved to Garden City Park or Garden City South two very small villages outside Garden City and neither had a public high school.

    • Posted By: caroline @ 11/30/2007 11:47:46 AM

      wjky5: you are right. Rudy didn't grow up in Garden City as this article states but in one of the very different adjacent towns. I thought it was Elmont, someone said it was Garden City South. Most of the boys from the two catholic grade schools in Garden City went to Chaminade, on the Island. They didn't commute to Brooklyn. Typically the girls didn't either, we looked for a (Catholic) high school on the Island. The idea of going into Brooklyn to a high school was anathema to most of us.

  • Posted By: pquinn @ 11/28/2007 4:23:53 PM

    Sometime in the late seventies or early eighties, a client of my late father???s law firm, and the firm itself, came under the scrutiny of an ambitious young federal prosecutor. The client was in shipping, and among their counsel???s responsibilities was negotiating contracts with the Longshoremen???s union. In a manner that bares comparison to Duke Lacrosse DA Michael Nifong, this prosecutor (who???d probably watched ???On the Waterfront??? one too many times) concluded that they must be connected to the Mob. A barratry suit was considered; I believe the intervention of then Judge Whitman Knapp, a former partner of the firm, effectively put a muzzle on young Giuliani.

    The zeal with which Giuliani went after the Mob may be understood as an example of what a psychoanalyst would call ???Reaction Formation???, wherein one???s actions are the opposite of one???s true desires: i.e. the bigot who contributes to the NAACP, etc. Boys model themselves after their fathers, and in his heart of hearts young Rudy likely wanted to be a hood, just like dad.

    Anti social, ???dramatic???, ???primitive??? personalities demonstrate a high degree of heritability, and it would not be unreasonable to suspect that a bar-keep who kept a bat and gun behind his bar, moonlighted as a loan shark enforcer, and did time for violent crime, didn???t find occasion to take a swing at his wife from time to time. Such a role model would certainly account for the less than genteel behavior Sir Rudolph has demonstrated towards the women in his life. Too ambitious to slug ???em, Sir Rudolph has still managed to be at least as cruel. As Michael Tomasky said in his excellent article for the American Prospect (???What Rudy Believes???, 4/12/07) ???Bill Clinton may have embarrassed his family, but Rudy Giuliani humiliated his.??? Whereas Clinton had moments of weakness, Giuliani???s conjugal behavior demonstrated malice aforethought.

    And I don???t think we can underestimate the extent to which the ritualized cruelty that was a Parochial School education in the years prior to Vatican II left its mark on Giuliani, and not in a good way. However it???s most significant impact may be the moral casuistry at which he has become particularly adept: his left and right hands are independent contractors, a situation abetted by the Roman church???s nickel and dime spiritual economy of penance and grace. He belongs to that class of Christian opportunist who understands his savior???s sacrifice ???get out of jail free??? card on which he can draw in perpetuity, and goes about his nasty business in the sure and certain hope of his ultimate salvation.

    I consider myself to be a moderate ???keep the government off our backs and out of our private lives??? Republican, and ideologically Giuliani and I stand toe to toe on most issues. However, the more I know about this man, the more repugnant he becomes.

    • Posted By: pquinn @ 11/28/2007 5:43:31 PM

      note: wrote this in word and cut and pasted. however, my quotations and commas have come out as question marks!

      • Posted By: caroline @ 11/30/2007 10:55:00 AM

        In the interest of full disclosure, as I have mentioned earlier, I went to St Anne's grade school with Rudy. Some of the factual innacuracies in this article irk me. I've listed one or two before. Another one I just noticed is the statement about middle class families sending their kids to Catholic School because public schools were similar to those depicted in Blackboard Jungle. No! Catholic kids went to Catholic schools because their parents would "lose their immortal souls" if a parochial school was available and they didn't send their child to a parochial school. That was Catholic dogma back then (I don't know about now). I grew up Catholic in Garden City, NY. The public schools in Garden City were excellent - then and now. The Blackboard Jungle schools were in New York City - a world away. Even Sewanhaka, the" tough" high school serving Elmont and less affluent communities around Garden City was not the Blackboard Jungle. Rudy went - on scholarship - to Catholic high school because, just like the rest of us, it was unthinkable to go to a public school and risk censure from the parish priest, fellow Catholics, etc. Plus you would be exposed to Protestants and you might marry one. And lose your immortal soul.

        The statement by Pquinn about "ritualized cruelty" might be extreme (but then the Christian Brothers had quite a rep for it) but here's the paradox about Catholic education (back then): many religious teachers in Catholic school didn't really choose to go into the religious life or to teach an overcrowded class or squirmy kids. But...every Catholic family was expected to give one son to the priesthood. You might have been "chosen" by God, by your parents to serve. Becoming a nun was not quite as important but it was a good "career" choice for unattractive (physically and mentally) young women, or those who were a tad unbalanced or obsessively scrupulous. Otherwise, these young women would be a lifelong liability to their families - so stick them in the convent. The religious life was the best way to get to heaven; married life - less a sure thing and being single, well, that was a "selfish" life and the only way you could expiate that sin was to dedicate your life to taking care of Mom and Dad in old age. I had some wonderful teachers at St. Anne's and the Catholic high school I attended and some miserable, demented souls, also, who should never have been there and whose purgatory was to stand in front of a class. Some of the cruelty was emotional, personal and viscious. We'd all have to sit there and watch it, whether it was doled out to us or not. Yup. And our parents were mainly intimidated by the religious and supported them. That was Rudy's world, in part, back then. For the record.

  • Posted By: motorvoter @ 11/30/2007 10:10:18 AM

    New York City was a cesspool when Dinkins was mayor. Crime was rampant, welfare recipients numbers were growing, businesses were fleeing the city, parts of the city were under the thumbs of organized crime. It was horrible. Then New Yorkers elected Giuliani mayor. Crime decreased dramatically, welfare recipients became workers, businesses returned to the city, taxes went down. Rudy Giuliani accomplished all of that -the liberals and the liberal media fighting him all of the way. Giuliani is the best choice for President. He is a true leader. Giuliani will keep our country strong. He believes in America. The Liberal Democrats will stoop to anything, no matter how low, to keep Giuliani from becoming the Republican nominee. I am voting for this man because I truly believe that he will keep our country strong and our people safe. The Liberal Democrats would rather that anyone other than Giuliani become the Republican candidate because he can win in 2008. He has my vote. Newsweek is weak on news, but certainly lives up to its reputation as the lap dog of the liberals.

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