New Book: Giuliani's Hero Status a "Grand Illusion"

[Hissyspit]

Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 (Hardcover)
Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins

BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)

America has so few political heroes who aren't phonies, incompetents, and greedy, it's a shame to debunk another one. But Rudy Giuliani, your moment to be unmasked has arrived.

Rudy's reputation, as we have long known -- and this book details -- is a "Grand Illusion" of post 9/11 stagecraft triumphing over reality.

In a recent "Politicker" website interview, on of the authors of "Grand Illusion," Wayne Barret notes: “He said all the rights things but I think we prove in the book he did all the wrong things. That’s before 9/11, after 9/11 and even on that day.”

Thrice-married Rudy is just another GOP hypocrite, whose strong on terrorism in words and weak in action.
Read The Full Review >>>
http://www.buzzflash.com/store/reviews/315
Other Reviews
"A thorough and thoughtful study of how Giuliani, a failure in real lie, became America's first great television hero of 9/11." -- Jimmy Breslin

"Warning! If you still need, for whatever emotional reason, to cling to the Giuliani-as-Churchill narrative that grew out of 9/11, you'd better avoid this book. If, however, you're more interested in the complete story than the media myth, if you're ready for some striking evidence that Giuliani failed his city in crucial ways, then you have to read this book." -- Michael Tomasky, Editor, The American Prospect
Learn More >>>
http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/315

[Jackpine Radical]

1. The sad thing is that I don't thin exposes of this sort matter any more.

The public has become incapable of judging the credibility of information. A Coulter fulmination or sewage from Hannity or O'Reilly counts for as much as a decently researched, honest piece of journalism in the mass mind. I fault modern education & the mindless MainSCREAM Media for this state of affairs--although I'm willing to entertain the theory that something truly awful has happened to our gene pool more-or-less overnight.

[Cosmocat]

4. Absolutely ...

The right has SO successfully dumbed down the masses, and the media is SO complicent in doing the leg work on it ...

Al Gore is so arrogant because he "said he invented the internet" and Rudy Guilliani has INCREDIBLE credibility on terrorism cause he saved lives on 9-11 ...

[bananarepublican]

18. But at least we can fight back with fact based zingers...

... at each and every opportunity.

Instead of Gringrich's list of liberal smearing words, we can develop fact based counter-punches, in other words, fact based knock-out responses, to the lies of the right-wing-freak-show currently running the country.

Those behind Kennedy's death are still ruling the roost!

[Jackpine Radical]

23. "Those behind Kennedy's death are still ruling the roost!"

It's amazing how widespread that particular belief is. I personally share it. I think the American counterrevolution happened in 1963. But it always comes as a surprise to me when I hear it from people whom I would never ave suspected of harboring such "paranoid" notions. It happened just the other day when I was at lunch with a friend, and he matter-of-factly mentioned the 1963 overthrow of America as if it were accepted doctrine.

[bananarepublican]

31. Getting to the bottom of JFK's murder would cleanse the country.

I really believe people are starting to get tired of the fairy tales being pushed by the MSM. The key to all that is going on lies with the puppeteers who decided to terminate JFK "with extreme prejudice".

[iamjoy]

2. Worried About Giuliani Running for President?

Then do everything we can to get this book publicity to nip the campaign in the bud.

I hate playing dirty, but it seems like in politics nice guys finish last.

[sendero]

3. Only the most moronic of morons..

... ever thought Guiliani ever did anything heroic. He crawled out of his hole and blasted a bunch of platitudes with a megaphone. I could have done better, and I'm no hero.

In America, the things that pass for heroism among the hoi-polloi would be amusing if they weren't so god dammed sad.

[kurth]

9. An average mayor of Anyville would have done the same thing

as Guiliani.

And any average president would have done the same thing as Bush with a megaphone.

Heroes, my ass.

[OwnedByFerrets]

11. I have always felt the exact same thing......

a megaphone does not a hero make.

[JI7]

16. that would make most Americans morons

sadly, he is one of the most popular politicians. more so than McCain. and all of it is based on 9/11. he did nothing, many people died, but the media and others refer to him as "America's Mayor" and "hero of 9/11".

many of the same people who view McCain as a hero would bash a firefighter who complained about not getting enough help after 9/11 and the health risks they faced. they would bash the widows who lost husbands on 9/11. but the Ghoul is a hero.

[NJCher]

5. Some info on the authors:

Wayne Barrett:

(from the faculty pages of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism):

For Wayne Barrett, senior editor at the Village Voice, this will be his eighth magical season. In addition to covering city and state government and politics at the Voice for 28 years, Barrett has written three books: City for Sale (1988); Trump: the Deals and the Downfall (1991); and Rudy! An Investigative Biography (2000). He is currently writing a 9/11 book with a distinct NYC focus to be published on the fifth anniversary by HarperCollins.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins, a senior producer at CBSNews.com, is a former New York correspondent for U.S. News & World Report and a reporter for the New York Daily News.




Cher

[unblock]

6. i give him credit for conducting a good showing on that day itself

he sucked before and he sucked after, and he'll always suck.

on 9/11 itself, he stood up in front of the media and got the media answers, and paraded other key people in charge of handling things in front of the media for answers to things he couldn't answer himself.

now, this is hardly heroism. it's basic calamity politicking 101. every mayor who has ever heard of a tornado, flood, earthquake, whatever, knows how to score a few political points looking like you're in charge in a crisis, when people need to feel like someone's in charge. it's basic competence for politicians, nothing to get all fussy over.

now, of course, he only REALLY got the attention he got because SHRUB was busy pissing his pants, trying to get out of the line of fire, or whatever the hell he was or wasn't doing.

[soothsayer]

8. he hired a top notch spin doctor (speechwriter, pr, all that)

A comms shill

[leesa]

14. Probably cause he knew about it in advance. After all, FEMA was there

the day before to prepare.

[Fridays Child]

7. K&R for exposing one of the GOP's biggest sacred cows.

Rudy Giuliani is an amoral, self-promoting creep. And he serves as a perfect example of how it's actually GOP hacks who operate by the so-called "doctrine of infallibity" that Ann Coulter had a meltdown about, in her latest book-length screed. It pisses her off, royally, that the 9-11 widows, individuals who really do have untarnished credibility, are exposing the misdeeds of her fellow fascists.

[biscotti]

10. I ordered this

book from Barnes& Noble on Thursday. I can not wait to get it! I have always felt he is one slimy critter and a thug to boot.

[Disturbed]

12. Phonies, incompetents, and greedy jerks.

This describes the Fascists in the Busholini Regime.This guy articulates better than most but he is still a phony, incompetent, and greedy jerk. I bet a vast majoirty of New Yorkers would agree with that.

[Mark E. Smith]

13. Kickin' this on up

Needs another pass through the mill.

[senseandsensibility]

15. He only looked good on 9-11

and thereafter compared to chimp. He was actually able to string a few words together without a speechwriter, and seemed to know some answers without coaching. Sadly, in chimpworld, that seems impressive.:-(

[RamboLiberal]

17. Can't wait to read this one - B&N just shipped mine

I'd love to see the authors get on TV to talk about it. Gee if they only gave authors like this the time they give the vixen Coulter.

[Disturbed]

19. RWing Corp Media gives time to RWing scum.

Hmmm...go figure.

[AtomicKitten]

20. When he didn't bitch-slap Coulter for trashing the 9/11 widows

he should have lost all credibility with the wingnuts.

[RamboLiberal]

26. When he didn't bitch-slap Couter he gained with the wingnuts

They'd have been all over him if he had spoke out against their heroine Coulter. I hope there are 9-11 families that speak out against him - especially those of the FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority.

[AtomicKitten]

29. the "should have"

referred to normal people :)

[Onlooker]

21. Compared to Bush

If people use the president as their measure for heroism, Guliani looks good. Let's remember what Bush did on 9/11: he stayed in the dark, he stayed in the sky, he hid, he cowered. While the terrorists made Bush cower, Guliani simply did his job -- acted like a politician.

[formercia]

22. I was wondering when this was going to happen.

His assistant media person just suicided...... what goes around, comes around.

[Poiuyt]

24. "Thank God George Bush is president!"

That is supposedly what Giuliani said on 9/11. What a phony. That alone should disqualify him for being president.

[autorank]

25. A shameless bully...who once did some good. K&R

Rudy could have gone either way. He put 4 of the 5 mob leaders behind bars as Federal Attorney for NY. That had a huge impact. Then he drifted over to the dark side and boarded the ship of fools. He's been a disaster ever since. Guy could have hired a decent police chief when Bratten left, he didn't. Guy could have bought decent equipment for fire and safety, his representatives didn't. What a jerk.

Great post.

[Subdivisions]

27. Giuliani is no hero, but I'll tell you who is...

I haven't read this book, or any other about Giuliani and never considered him a hero simply because he happened to allegedly say and do the things he said he said and did.

Everything described by him and by others about his actions that day don't amount to jack shit. He's a dick, an adulterer and a crook. Whatever story put forth about his heroics that day were specifically designed to set him up to become a candidate for president in order for the neocons to perpetrate their next treasonous act.

No, Giuliani is not a hero. He is a conspirator. But I'll tell you who is the real hero of 9/11...

The members of the NYFD who tried in vain to save the people in those towers, going up when everyone else was going down.

[senseandsensibility]

28. Amen

And those NYFD members were UNION members.

[Subdivisions]

30. And so am I a Union member, but

they haven't been able to put me and many of my brothers to work down here in Texas for over a year. I wonder why that is?

[bemildred]

32. Rudy is a useless asshole, a product of the Might Wurlitzer.

Without the suckup press he would be nothing, and we'd all have been better off without him.