McCain just threw his hat in the ring ... on Letterman

You're gonna blame Giuliani for Louima? Sorry, I refuse to take the bait.
Sick cops wanting to sodomize someone, that can't be blamed on a mayor who encourages aggressive policing tactics. That's straight-out animal behavior. A shoot-first, ask-questions-later culture does not come with the message to shove a plunger up a guy's ass.
Dorismond, he got into a fight with a cop. All bets are off once you lay hands on an officer. And if he put his hand on the cop's gun, as is alleged, he was messing with fire.
The Diallo case is legit, and that brought up many issues in the NYPD. Can you pin that all on Rudy? I don't know. Of course, the shooting a few months back in Queens has brought up many of the same issues, and little still is known.

 

See, they tape the show in the afternoon...
(ducking)

 

Weathervane McCain

I'd have more respect for him if he gave it back to the Bushies the last time around.

 

And this is as good a time as any to post our pal Jone's terrific piece on McCain in last year's Esquire.

http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0806MCCAIN_94

 

Shocking that I'm abandoning my liberal stance, but I would actually consider voting for McCain. Age, however, is indeed a factor.

 

Those worrying about age have little concern. I mean, the dude survived five years in the Hanoi Hilton. Eight years as president is a walk in the park.

And ifilus, nice touch with the pink ones.

 

I think the age factor would be more of a turnoff for voters, rather than a concern ... I know Reagan was in his 70s, but that was decades ago. The only elder statesman to run since was Dole, and he didn't do so well (and I think age was a factor there, among other things).

 

It may not, but it does create an atmosphere of emboldened officers. The officer went the extra distance on this because of all that was excused in the past.

Of course, this is all based on reports from the police. Since it is already established that Rudy placed cops above reproach, isn't it possible that they may have done something wrong?

It isn't just the shooting, which was brought about through the atmosphere of infallibility, it was the following justification that made it so disgusting. The following PR spin that tried to defend the shooting as something that was fully justified.

This doesn't even get into Rudy's post-9/11 behavior where he tried to declare himself king of NYC by extending his term limit.

 

It was more than one officer, it was a gang of cops that abused Abner Louima. They're the ones who are responsible, not Rudy Giuliani.

Of course, it is. That's why I said allegedly.

I seem to remember that it was Rudy's henchmen that were pushing for an extension of time in office, not Rudy himself. I'm splitting hairs here, yes, but it's not like Giuliani himself made moves to block the election.

And how much of the PR spin in the aftermath of Diallo came from the mayor's office?

The guy's got issues, and his messy divorce will win him few fans. But to blame all the ills of a corrupt police department -- a department where corruption has run rampant for decades -- on the mayor is overboard.

 

Yes, you can argue that the cops went unchecked and that they were corrupted by their own power. But where does the power come from? If there is no oversight and the leadership (Rudy) acts as nothing more than an enabler, such things will occur.

It would be fair to compare this to the Enron scandal. The leadership pushed for better profits. They argued in court that they didn't want the books cooked, but make no mistake, they didn't complain when it was.

Rudy was the same. He wanted a better arrest record. He wanted to be labeled as the man that cleaned up NY. He turned his head the other way on a variety of abuses. It was only when the abuses went overboard, such as in the three cases brought up here, that it suddenly is no longer his fault. He created the environment.

 

If you encourage a wild west attitude among your cops, which Rudy did even before he was mayor, with the police riot against Dinkins, then you can't walk away when the wild west breaks out. Rudy's an authoritarian right down to his shoe tops, and I wouldn;t trust him as a crossing guard, let alone with the DOJ.

 

Bob Somerby is excellent today:

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh030107.shtml