Damn-- I haven't even gotten down to exploring the Giuliani issue yet and I've already received two reactions!
GK Davis writes:
I haven't read Giuliani's book, but it seems to me that he's just saying that we should be civil about this. Clinton did what he could in the context of the political situation at the time. That's all he seems to be saying to me.
As for the context, I just read an Orson Scott Card book written between lobbing missiles into Sudan/Afghanistan and 9/11. He states unequivocally that we had no justification for doing so and that these actions just point out that we are a country in decline. I don't think Card is some kind of raving leftist (in fact, he's a devout Mormon, one of the most loyal Republican demographics around.) I see Giuliani's comments as way to head off revisionist history without pissing off the religious wackos he's going to need to get the GOP nomination.
Oh, if you have the time, I started a blog: http://fourseven.wordpress.com. I'm a half-Korean guy like you, but live stateside in California. I'm a bit of a foodie, though not so much into cream and butter as you. I've also been exploring Korean Buddhism with some real depth lately. When I was in the army, my tags said I was a Buddhist, but that was more to make sure that if I ate it, I wouldn't be interred with Christian rites.
-GK Davis
Nathan also writes in [email edited for privacy]:
Hi Kevin,
The www.opinionjournal.com pages touch on your questions regarding both Rudy and the Mozart opera. According to James Taranto, Rudy is trying to appear like a statesman in order to strengthen his run for the presidency. I agree with that. I'd vote for Rudy in a heartbeat, too--if I were an American!
Also... I don't terribly mind the Mozart opera not being shown. According to the article by Roger Kimball on this subject, at the same website, it wasn't the opera itself that was cancelled; it was just a modern interpretation whose offensive ending, featuring Mohammed, Poseidon, Jesus and the rest, wasn't in the original Mozart. It was just another one of these crazy post-modernist types, trying to deconstruct everything as usual. I'm out of sympathy for such types, frankly. In that sense, I think that Kimball's point is perhaps overstated. On the other hand, I share his worries about where this is heading. After all, Dante himself has a special place in hell for Mohammed--are we to refrain from celebrating Dante? A worrying thought.
Cheers,
Nathan
I think Rudy is indeed starting to formulate a foreign policy stance in preparation for a presidential run. This site claims that Giuliani has "no [foreign policy] stance on record." I assume the site will be updated soon. Prediction: Rudy will not shun diplomacy, but he'll take a largely hard-line, pro-Israel stance. I'd be extremely curious to know his position on East Asian foreign policy. I can guess what he has to say about North Korea, but I'm more interested in his opinion on China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
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