NOVEMBER 28, 2007 --

In a recent column called, "The Real Rudy,"  David Brooks, pointed to passionate statements made by Rudy Giuliani in support of undocumented residents as indication of the kind of dynamic reformer the former mayor would be as president.

Mr. Brooks  began his  November 23 New York Times column with these words:  "Rudy Giuliani can play a little rough at times …"  Indeed, so.  And THAT, of course, is "The Real Rudy."

Not only does Rudolph W. Giuliani play rough -- which is what I learned from the Dayton-Seaside property tax manipulation, he ignores the rules.  Come to think of it, David Brooks should have realized this trait as implicit in Mr. Giuliani's support of undocumented workers.  Whatever one's feelings on immigration legislation, can it be denied that undocumented workers are here because they have  ignored the rules -- while the people who follow the rules in their quest to come here and work hard are kept out, to wait ever longer for admission to our shores?

Another lesson I took from Dayton Seaside: when Rudy plays rough, the media looks the other way. And David Brooks, in his November 23 New York Times column offers but the latest example of this press phenomenon.

As president, Mr. Giuliani can be expected to bend, twist and break the rules, leaving the aggrieved to seek redress in the courts.  Apparently, Mr. Giuliani, speaking to the Federalist Society, indicated his belief in judicial restraint.  Perhaps what is no less important, when it comes to Rudolph W. Giuliani, is adherence to the principle of executive restraint.