If Rudy drops out...
Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:42 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2008, Giuliani
From NBC's Chris Donvan
Just quickly looked at Rudy Giuliani's book "Leadership" online, and found a couple of lines from it that might be interesting if he ends up dropping out. For example, did "bad breaks" have a part in his defeats? Will he be like the 1976 Yankees he talked of, and come back in a future presidential campaign?
1. “Just as an election victory needs a dozen little things to go right, a defeat can be blamed on any number of separate bad breaks.” ("Leadership," page 55)
2. “There are important skills to be learned from picking yourself up after something goes wrong, to keep moving ahead without letting it throw you off course. When I lost my first race for mayor, I felt that it was like losing the World Series. I came within three percentage points, and to be that close but still lose was both exhilarating and devastating.” ("Leadership," page 107)
Here are the two quotes in context:
"I lost the race for mayor in 1989 by about 40,000 votes out of almost two million cast. It was a razor-thin margin and a more than respectable showing for a first-time candidate, especially in New York, with its strong Democratic bias. Just as an election victory needs a dozen little things to go right, a defeat can be blamed on any number of separate bad breaks. In 1989, my whole team assumed I'd be facing Ed Koch. We hadn't anticipated Dinkins defeating the three-term mayor in a Democratic primary, and my preparation had been geared toward a race against the incumbent. I came awfully close that year. By the time I decided to run again in 1993, I made sure I'd be ready for anything." (Page 55)
“There are also issues of psychological conditioning. When a trial I was prosecuting went wrong, or when some strategy failed while I was mayor, or somebody made a mistake, or I said something people misunderstood, I would think of baseball, and how even the best hitters fail two out of three times. The greatest pitchers lose some games, and lose badly. There are important skills to be learned from picking yourself up after something goes wrong, to keep moving ahead without letting it throw you off course. When I lost my first race for mayor, I felt that it was like losing the World Series. I came within three percentage points, and to be that close but still lose was both exhilarating and devastating. On the night of the election, I was reminded of the Yankees in 1976. It was their first trip to the World Series since 1964, so they were thrilled to be back on the big stage, but they were swept, losing four straight to the Cincinnati Reds, the last of the great Big Red Machine teams. In 1977 and 1978, the Yankees came back to win two years in a row, with essentially the same team, plus Reggie Jackson. All these players, like Thurman Munson, Lou Piniella, and Willie Randolph-many of whom had never been in a World Series before - gained exposure to the World Series in 1976. Battle experience is invaluable, and difficult to replicate. It’s tough to know in advance whether those around you will handle pressure. Many good teams, particularly the Yankees over the years, will trade for a playoff-tested ballplayer, even one who’s not having a great season." (pages 107-108)
