In 1993, New York City was declared by the FBI as one of the most dangerous places to live in the United States, averaging nearly 2,000 murders a year and more than 11,000 other major crimes per week.

Then the city of New York, where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 5-to-1, elected Rudy Giuliani as their new mayor.

As the former associate attorney general, and being the third highest office in the Department of Justice, he had the hands-on experience from working with law enforcement agencies to deal with large criminal problems.

This boy from Brooklyn was not about to let his city fall into the hands of the criminals anymore.

He increased the police force, cut crime in half and reduced the overall murders in the city by 33 percent. He took critical steps in increasing the FDNY and created the Office of Emergency Management.

In a span of eight years, he turned New York City into one of the safest large cities in the United States, according to FBI statistics.

Now this scrappy, hard working, native Brooklynite is running for president; and he has the support of this writer.

He had to prove his mettle on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just as so many brave men and women did to try and rescue those that they could.

Giuliani was there in the front line doing whatever was needed to help speed recovery and rescue workers. Immediate action was needed, and he delivered.

For his efforts he was awarded the Presidential Freedom Award, and knighted by the Queen of England.

I know what you are probably thinking: “What does all of this have to do with whether or not he can be an effective president?”

I would say in response to that, “Everything.”

As a country, there has been no darker day than Sept. 11, 2001. I know that I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when I saw the planes fly into the towers.

It has become the Pearl Harbor of our generation.

To take a city as large as New York City and cut the crime rate so drastically in less than a decade is more than remarkable.

He was also responsible for implementing a reformed welfare program that reduced the number of recipients by nearly 60 percent, bringing the unemployment rates in the city to the lowest they have been since 1966.

As for our nation, Giuliani looks to restore fiscal discipline in Washington by controlling spending, and cutting wasteful programs.

He was able to cut city-funded government, outside of police and teachers, by almost 20 percent. This money was instead spent creating new jobs needed to bring about the changes New York City needed.

Giuliani is the only real fiscal conservative in this presidential race. He cut taxes in New York City 23 times, turning a $2.3 billion deficit into a multi-billion dollar surplus and still kept a balanced budget for the city.

He even implemented a plan that seems incredibly elusive to Democrats nationwide: If you lower taxes, as Giuliani did in New York City, your state/city/nation (take your pick), will have an increase in income.

With lower taxes, people will have more money to spend.

More spent, means more money taxed, leading to increased revenue for the government. Democrats of Milwaukee and Wisconsin take note: If you want more money for your programs, reduce taxes.

While government leaders across the country are pushing for a timetable in regards of bringing our troops home from Iraq, Mr. Giuliani sees that unfortunately, this is not possible.

The terrorists in the world today feed off of fear. If the United States is to ever prosper again, we cannot go back to a position of playing defense and wait for something to happen to us.

The terrorists brought this war we are in to our front door.

It is our responsibility, as the proverbial “beacon of hope” for the world that we see the larger war on terror comes to a complete victory, and not just “mission accomplished.”

We could go on and on debating the traditional sides of the rest of the partisan issues: Second Amendment rights, abortion, gay marriage, public safety, blah, blah, blah.

I think it is time for a change - a time for this country to have a leader who is not afraid of getting into the thick of things and fixing them without the political bulls#&t that usually comes with it.

If you want to live in a country where you can feel safe again, vote for Giuliani in 2008! My bumper sticker has already been mailed!

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