When Giuliani was growing up

'Rudy's Roots'
Readers of our profile on how Rudy Giuliani's complicated upbringing helped shape him questioned his credibility and electability. "He comes across as a self-serving bully whose sense of loyalty is a one-way street. Haven't we stomached enough hypocrisy for one decade?" one wrote. "If this is who Republicans are pinning their hopes on, can you say 'Hello, Madam President'?" But another defended Giuliani as the "one man with the strength, determination, charisma, leadership ability and experience to defeat the Democratic opponent in 2008."

I graduated from Bishop Loughlin Memorial two years after Rudy Giuliani, and your cover story correctly notes that he has been smart and ambitious ever since high school ("Growing Up Giuliani," Dec. 3). But since when is brainpower the sole ingredient of leadership? Let's not forget the art of diplomacy, the skill of interpersonal relations and the power of good judgment. Giuliani has made a career of trampling on anyone who gets in his way to achieve power. Furthermore, his children and one of his former wives are alienated from him. Like the citizens of New York City, American voters will soon tire of his brash, abrasive and angry temperament. In the past seven years, haven't we had enough of the politics of fear and divisiveness?
Terrence Quinn
Bayside, N.Y.

Reading Rudy Giuliani's quote—"Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do"—sent chills down my spine. In the Oct. 15 issue I also read that Giuliani's ultra-neocon advisers Norman Podhoretz and Peter Berkowitz advocate invading Iran ("Rudy Giuliani: Would You Buy a Used Hawk From This Man?"). The thought of a Giuliani presidency is truly frightening.
Ray Swanson
Monument, Colo.

As a Christian Brothers-schooled, third-generation Italian-American who volunteered for and served in infantry combat in Vietnam, I find Rudy Giuliani's statement that Vietnam wasn't a "just war" to be a pretty lame excuse. America doesn't need another draft dodger in the White House, especially one whose code of ethics is even more hypocritical than our current president's.
Pasquale Cruciano
Virginia Beach, Va.

Like Rudy Giuliani, I grew up in Brooklyn during the 1950s. Whatever qualifications he may have don't really matter. While we were all Brooklyn Dodgers fans, he was (and still is) a Yankees fan. Definitely not to be trusted!
Alan Weiner
St. Catharines, Canada

Your Rudy Giuliani cover story is replete with unfortunate and not-so-subtle references to organized crime. "Growing Up Giuliani"? Where have I heard that before? And mentioning Bernard Kerik's "made man" ceremony? This is an unmistakable attempt to somehow, if only by innuendo, link Giuliani to the mob. The only valid link between the two is his remarkable effort to combat and prosecute crime of the organized, street and gang varieties. Insinuating that a fearless crimefighter like Giuliani is anything like organized-crime gangsters is a disservice to readers.
Anthony W. Fanale
Marblehead, Mass.