Me, Rudy Giuliani, and some other guy

Here's a picture for ya!

I'm kidding about the "some other guy" in the title. That's Peter King, a congressman thought to be a candidate for US Senate in 2010.

The Rudy thing is funny. I have been critical in the past of him: Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul. I've never quite figured out why he's a hero for 9/11. He showed up and made a speech or two.

If he had recognized that the buildings were unstable and ordered the firemen out, saving lives, that might make him a hero. If he had anticipated some kind of terrorist attack, had a team study likely targets, determined the WTC vulnerability and taken steps in advance to shore up the towers or plans for dealing with an attack, then that might make him a hero. But showing up and making a few speeches? That's not heroic. The firemen were the heroes, and some cops too.

I'm not the first to question his hero status. See the discussion in Wikipedia. And there's Blue Collar Politics.

And of course, he was an aggressive prosecutor. That Wikipedia page covers some of the concerns.

But the most important thing -- I actually look good in this picture. I'm not photogenic but this one came out okay. I also like how my gray striped suit contrasts with their dark suits.

The photo part of the event was funny. It was the Albany County Republican Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. We paid a lot of money and went up to a room where many people stood in line waiting for their chance to be photo'd with Giuliani and King, along with about 5 seconds of conversation.

Overall the event was great. I actually liked Rudy's speech. He had some funny lines -- the Yankees did really well while he was Mayor, and not so great since he left. He jokingly claimed credit for their success. Food was good - the Desmond always does a good job. Lots of great people at the event too. The Albany County GOP did a solid job on it - kudos to John Graziano (the Chair), Dan Farrell (he did a lot of the work), and whoever else was involved.