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Time Magazine Names Giuliani "Person of the Year"
NEW YORK, Dec 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been named
Time magazine's Person of the Year, the magazine announced Sunday, passing over Osama bin Laden and U.S. President George W. Bush.
The mayor was one of several personalities being considered by the influential news magazine as the most important newsmaker of the year, for his role in helping the battered metropolis heal following the devastating September 11 terrorist attacks.
On the magazine's website, readers picked bin Laden as their first choice for person of the year, followed by Bush.
And in Time for Kids, the edition of the magazine geared to children under age 12, readers picked the American firefighter, police officer and rescue worker as the person of the year. Student wizard Harry Potter took second place.
Time said Giuliani's quick action and leadership on September 11 inspired Americans.
The magazine said that on September 11, while Bush was "on the move, underground [and] the rest of us had stopped in our tracks ... it was up to Giuliani to hold off despair long enough for the rest of us to get our balance, find our armor and join in to fight at his side."
It added, "If the graves alone were the measure, Osama bin Laden would own this year." But
Time said bin Laden "is too small a man to get the credit for all that has happened in America in the autumn of 2001."
The magazine's announcement on Sunday heaps yet more recognition on Giuliani for his role following the September 11 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center.
In October, he received an honorary knighthood from Britain, while the cable television network "A&E" named Giuliani its "Biography of the Year."
And across the United States he has earned the unofficial honor of "America's Mayor" in the heart of many U.S. citizens for his tireless efforts to guide the city after the carnage of September 11.
Giuliani, 57, leaves office next month after two consecutive terms as New York's mayor.
"I'm not done with politics," he told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning. "I love public service."
He was not always as beloved a figure as he has become in recent months, however.
Many in the city's black and Hispanic communities decried what was seen as indiscriminate support for the police, even during highly controversial police brutality scandals.
New York Muslims recall his recent visit to Israel showing sympathy to Israeli "victims" of attacks by Palestinians, while not visiting with Palestinians in the Occupied Territories as virtually every state dignitary visiting the region does.
In addition, during the U.N.'s Millennium celebrations in 2000, Giuliani snubbed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat by refusing to allow him to enter a theatre presentation in which all world leaders gathered in New York attended. At the time, he said he did not want to invite "terrorists" to New York City functions.
He has also been scorned by some in the art community after an attempt to cut funding to the Brooklyn Museum of Art because of artwork he deemed sacrilegious and pornographic.
His U.S. Senate campaign against eventual winner Hillary Clinton was abruptly cut short when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, rankling many Republicans who felt he misled them about his interest in running for the post.
And in the final months of his final term in office, marital woes and a well-publicized romantic relationship outside of marriage tarnished his reputation.
But all that appears to be ancient history for New Yorkers and much of the rest of the country, following September 11.
Giuliani's constant presence in the days following the attacks on the World Trade Center and his compassion for the families of the victims, has won over even his toughest critics in this largely Democratic town.
He has succeeded in softening his earlier image as an irascible and hard-edged former federal prosecutor concerned primarily with fighting crime and tackling the Mafia, and now is seen almost as a father figure for the Big Apple, where his popularity ratings now hover around an unprecedented 80%.
Giuliani, whose relationship with local and national media was tenuous at best throughout his eight years in office, said he has learned the importance of honesty when leading during a crisis.
"Be honest with people; be who you are," he said when asked to give advice to future leaders, including billionaire media mogul Michael Bloomberg, who came from behind to win the mayor's office largely on the strength of Giuliani's endorsement.
"Just be whoever you are and you gotta get by with that. Politics needs that, go with your heart, your conscience and your mind and tell people the truth."
Giuliani is barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term in office. Were he not bound to leave office after serving two terms, most observers believe he would have easily won November's mayoral elections.
The outgoing mayor has already signed a three million dollar deal to write two books while in retirement.
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