During the September 5 GOP debate in New Hampshire, Mayor Giuliani had this little noticed dig at Governor Romney:
New York City was, during the years that I was mayor, the safest large city in the United States. In fact, in 2000, which was one of the last years that I was mayor, it was 191 for crime in the country. For example, in Boston, there was a 59 percent greater chance you'd be the victim of a crime than in New York City. In many other cities, there was 100 to 300 percent greater chance that you'd be a victim of a crime than in New York City. One of the things I accomplished as mayor of New York City was the impossible.
Besides Giuliani's logical fallacy--if something is impossible, can you really accomplish it?--there are a couple of things to note about this statement. One, Giuliani left office in 2002, while Mitt Romney didn't become governor until 2003. So a direct comparison is, strictly speaking, unfair. Two, the crime discussion is probably only beginning. For an example, read this Boston Globe story, which reports that "newly released figures show that murders were up 7.5 percent in the Bay State and 25 percent in Boston from 2002 to 2006 while Romney was governor." Now it should also be noted that assault and rape figures fell during the same period. And a Romney spokesman told the Globe that the former governor has "a strong record on public safety." Furthermore, I'm not sure crime will be the dispositive issue in the 2008 GOP primary. In fact, I'm pretty sure it won't be dispositive. But the Globe story suggests that for every ad that runs in Iowa attacking Giuliani's positions on abortion, gun control, immigration, etc., etc., there will be another ad attacking Romney's flip-flops and, of all things, his record on crime.