Giuliani Time (NR)

synopsis

Ever since the events of 9/11 Rudy Giuliani has become a name recognized the world over. Besides being named "Time" magazine's Person of the Year and receiving a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, his profile has only grown in the last few years. His energetic campaigning for the reelection of George W. Bush gave him new political power. Over the last year, his name has been rumored as a popular choice for not only senator and governor but as America's envoy to the United Nations, the new director of the CIA and a number of other high-profile positions. He is also talked about as a favored candidate for the 2008 GOP Presidential nomination. But what defined "America's Mayor" before he was catapulted to a secular sainthood? More than five years in the making, "Giuliani Time" investigates the stories behind the "new" New York City that Giuliani laid claim to. From "quality of life" policing to welfare reform and First Amendment-related debacles, the feelings about the Giuliani years largely depended on where you stood. "Giuliani Time" is the story of the effect this former Reagan administration official and high-profile federal prosecutor had on what he called the 'Capital of the World." It is a wild ride of political ambition and public amnesia, alternate realities, wars of perception and dramatic, even cataclysmic, events.