Rudy: Kerik Was A Good Commish, Whatever His "Problems"
Rudy responds to the report in today's Daily News about the impending indictment of Bernie Kerik, his man in One Police Plaza:
"The reality is, if we take a look at Bernard Kerik's service as police commissioner, he was an excellent police commissioner. Crime went down unexpectedly under Bernard Kerik."Then on the other side of it, there were these problems. I take the responsibility. We should have known about them. We should have dealt with them. We didn't. It was my mistake. I made it. I am sorry for it. I've learned from it. But in the balance of things, you take a look at the success that I had, it must be that I am generally picking the right people. Because I am sure not doing this by myself."
Just to point this out one more time, Rudy also personally recommended to George Bush that he appoint Kerik as chief of the Department of Homeland Security. That's kind of a key appointment for a President. So this seems like a worthwhile fact to keep in mind about Rudy the Presidential candidate, particularly since he's telling us that he's the guy best equipped to handle what he calls the Terrorists' War Against Us.
Comments (18)
Anonymous wrote on October 12, 2007 4:32 PM:I think he is wrong about how well Kerik did as a police commissioner.
Did Rudy ever apologize for putting Kerik forward for the DHS nomination?
If not, it seems a little late to apologize now that Kerik is on the eve of a federal indictment.
Greg wrote on October 12, 2007 4:38 PM:not sure, actually. if memory serves he said something apologetic when the first bad kerik news broke
Johnny Magnum wrote on October 12, 2007 4:48 PM:Let me get this straight, crime went down "unexpectedly" when Bernie was the Commissioner? Did Rudy expect it to do something else?
Eli Rabett wrote on October 12, 2007 4:49 PM:So, is it now time to ask if Rudy is mobbed up? Or do we have to wait until someone squeezes Bernie?
Anonymous wrote on October 12, 2007 4:51 PM:Neither Rudy nor Kerik had anything to do with crime coming down in NYC unless similar excellence should be credited to virtually every mayor and police chief in every big city in the US. Crime fell dramatically everywhere during the whole decade.
Joe wrote on October 12, 2007 4:59 PM:I remember another Rudy appointment during his time as Mayor that caused a stir. I can't remember if it was in 1st or 2nd term, but I do recall some controversy over his choice to run NY's Taxi & Limousine Commission. Apparently his pick was a lawyer who had represented a drug crew in the city, and I beleive he was accused of actually taking part in their criminal activity.
Any other fellow New Yorker's remember this?
Joe
Dr. Cheese in WI wrote on October 12, 2007 5:14 PM:Guiliani is demonstrating the exact same "loyalty" attribute that has been so troubling with President Bush. If he takes this same attitude into the White House, it seems likely we will have more "heck of a job, Brownie" moments. This attribute (a seeminly blind, mindless loyalty to one's friends/appointments) should also be seen as a disqualifying attribute for a president.
Anonymous wrote on October 12, 2007 5:53 PM:"Neither Rudy nor Kerik had anything to do with crime coming down in NYC unless similar excellence should be credited to virtually every mayor and police chief in every big city in the US. Crime fell dramatically everywhere during the whole decade."
You mean while Clinton was President, the economy was booming, and the country was running a budget surplus? How can that be?
litigatormom wrote on October 12, 2007 7:46 PM:Rudy deserves some credit for the drop in crime in NYC, but only "some." Rudy's predecessor, David Dinkins, significantly beefed up the NYPD, and crime had already started to drop when he left office. Rudy's first NYPD commish, Bill Bratton, was fired by Rudy when because Bratton was getting too much credit as crime continued to drop (Bratton is now the LAPD commish). Only after Bratton was sacked did Kerik become Commish, and he did nothing of significance other than take credit for the results of what others had done.
Rudy tries to pretend that he had no idea that Kerik was dirty. But remember, he put Kerik forward as HS secretary YEARS after they'd left office, after YEARS in business together. He had already gotten Kerik a gig as an advisor to the Iraqi national police force during the incompetent rule of Jerry Bremer. By all accounts, Kerik did nothing but give speeches in the Green Zone. And somehow, in all those years, Rudy had no idea that Kerik was dirty? Give me a %*^$%#!@! break.
Kerik, who started out as Rudy's police chauffeur, had the one and only skill that Rudy ever valued: complete, unquestioning loyalty.
Sound familiar? Rudy would be Bush on steroids.
stop rudy wrote on October 12, 2007 8:16 PM:Rudy's housing commissioner was convicted of using city funds for himself and his boyfriend. He had absolutly no background in housing, real estate, or anything else; he was the son of the chairman of the NYC Liberal Party, Rudy needed their endorsement. Thousands of New Yorkers in Public Housing suffered as a result.
David Scher wrote on October 12, 2007 9:03 PM:I am a New Yorker who lived through the Giuliani years and I can report that I and several of my friends who wanted to report crimes; a mugging, a car theft, an assault and a child being beaten were told that the police could do nothing unless we had eyewitnesses, names and addresses etc. of the perpetrators. This was the policy of the dept. to keep the stats down. A detective in our precinct told me as much.
Juble wrote on October 12, 2007 10:32 PM:The reality is, if we take a look at Bernard Kerik's service as police commissioner, he was an excellent police commissioner. Crime went down unexpectedly under Bernard Kerik.
****Repukes already think they are above the rule of law how long before Repukes ANNOUNCE that the constitution doesn't mean squat to 'em ???
Rudy connected...??? Nawwww...
Didn't he hunt down, and jail a bunch of wise-guys as Prosecutor: or, maybe they were just his cronies opposition?
The fact is...New York City bent-nosed types, got a face-lift years ago, established "legitimate" business' with names like Enron, WorldCom...etc., paid a visit to Congress and the Senate, making them an offer they couldn't refuse.
bill wrote on October 13, 2007 7:48 AM:so lets see- for almost 7 years we have heard- I stand behind,;ou've done a great job brownie,; a great hero;
Ya gotta love it!
Crime drops dramatically in the 1990's. Remember Roe v Wade passed in 1973, so there was a drop in the numbers of poor and unwanted youth in the 90s.
Isn't that why Rudy is/was pro-choice?
lonbud wrote on October 13, 2007 2:13 PM:mountain biker has it exactly right. the link between access to family planning services, including contraception and abortion, and reduction in crime is indisputable.
not sure if that's why rudy is pro-choice, but the sociological correlation is a fact.
in addition, dinkin's policies and those of bill bratton, the police commissioner giuliani dumped in his first term had far more to do with reducing crime in nyc during giuliani's reign than anything rudy did himself.
1st Republic 14th Star wrote on October 14, 2007 12:43 AM:Joe:
Christopher R. Lynn was the Giuliani commissioner who was accused of being corrupt:
http://www.dcwatch.com/dorothy/dot000313.htm
In his failed campaign for a New York City Council seat last year, Lynn’s campaign manager, Simon Valenzuela, was arrested for possessing cocaine, heroin, guns, and ammunition, and for using drug-processing paraphernalia.
In the 1980’s, Federal prosecutors characterized Lynn’s role as a criminal defense attorney for the “Baby Sam” Edmondson drug gang as being the gang’s “house counsel.”
[W]hen a lawyer gets involved in crack murders, perjury, jury tampering and money laundering, as has been alleged by detectives, state and federal prosecutors and his former clients, he surrenders his right to be a public servant. It seems as if Lynn has been paroled after 13 crack murders. . . . City detectives, an informal fraternity, know about Lynn and the crack gangs. They and prosecutors have talked about Lynn on the record for the last nine months, alleging money laundering, perjury and jury tampering. There is a name — and a court document — with every allegation.”
“Transportation Commissioner Christopher Lynn hired a friend and former law client to make ‘No Honking’ signs for the Queensboro Bridge — then demoted a manger who blew the whistle. In apparent violation of city rules. Lynn ordered 100 signs from his friend last fall to calm angry East Side residents and motorists stuck in gridlock created by the city’s rerouting of bridge traffic, Department of Transportation documents reveal.”
The "unexpectedly" line is real bull. Not only did Bratton begin the drop in crime, as others have noted, but before Kerik, there was a guy named Howard Safir who was commissioner. On balance, he was the worst of all of Giuliani's commissioners (even though crime continued to drop).
He was the guy in charge when Amadou Diallo was shot. The reason that happened is that Safir expanded the Street Crimes Unit (used to go after illegal guns) without bothering to train the cops. Result: 4 cops who had never worked together ended up shooting an unarmed African immigrant (they thought the wallet he was reaching for was a gun).
Remarkably, at the time, New Yorkers considered Kerik a major improvement as commissioner over Safir.
