Re: So does Giuliani have a legit shot at the nomination?
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And your last point is stupid. Of course New Yorkers don't the squeegee guys back. The issue is whether getting rid of the squeegee guys had any effect on reducing other crimes. Most studies suggests that it did not.
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No the issue is whether getting rid of squeegee guys, homeless people sleeping on the street, panhandlers, etc. was good economically for the city. If you look at tourism/real estate values/revenues pre- and post-Giuliani, there's no question it was.
BTW the idea that all these squeegee guys and homeless people were tossed into prison or otherwise "made to disappear" is silly and paranoid. Many of the homeless were sent to shelters or psychiatric centers, which is where they are supposed to be, not sleeping on Madison Avenue.
More importantly Giuliani challenged the prevalent idea that petty crime was something that was out of the mayor's or the police's control, just something we'd all have to live with in a big city. Whether this led to the drops in major crimes is debatable, but either way it vastly improved the quality of life in NYC.
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