No One Is Better Qualified To Be President Than Rudy Giuliani

New Hampshire Union Leader
December 26, 2007 Robert Roughsedge Op-Ed

I support Rudy Giuliani for President because he has demonstrated a remarkable ability to lead in the government sector. This is no small accomplishment.

New York City was the most crime-ridden city in America when Rudy took over, and he made it the safest large city in America. New York is also the third-largest government in the United States. Big government traditionally means bureaucracy and inefficiency. Rudy transformed this Democratic stronghold into, as George Will described it, “the most successful episode of conservative government in this country in the last 50 years.”

Rudy inherited a $2.3 billion budget deficit and turned it into a multi-billion dollar surplus by reducing taxes 23 times, cutting regulations and reducing the size of the bureaucracy by 20 percent. The economic revival of New York City created 423,000 jobs and helped move 640,000 people off of welfare

This is an amazing accomplishment. Add to that the leadership he displayed under pressure and during a crisis of monumental proportions after the brutal attacks of 9/11 and the choice is clear. To paraphrase an old line, “If he can make it there, he’ll make it any where …”

Rudy’s experience and accomplishments under the most difficult circumstances are unmatched by any of his rivals.

Giuliani has legs. He can take his home state in the general election — a huge jackpot of electoral votes. Even better, Giuliani puts New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania in play. Florida? Yeah, we got that too. Giuliani is even popular in California.

The last time the Democrats had to spend money in California in the general election was against Ronald Reagan. President Reagan was a conservative. However, conservative beliefs alone did not make Ronald Reagan’s presidency successful. It was President Reagan’s leadership that made the difference. All candidates and Presidents, liberal and conservative, believe that their policies will achieve the same goal — a better America. But very few Presidents have been able to accomplish this goal. Rudy Giuliani accomplished his goals on a scale and on a stage far more impressive than any of the other current candidates. As a leader, Rudy Giuliani is proven, tested and reliable.

Robert Roughsedge of Hampton is a counterterrorism consultant for the Defense and State departments and teaches a course on counterterrorism and the law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

To read the entire article, please click here.