(Mussolini made the trains run on time when no one else could)
"My favorite tidbit is that he charged $100k for giving a tsunami aid speech in South Carolina in February - forking over $20k of his fee as a chartiable contribution -- when other celebrities like Clinton, George Bush I and George Clooney donated their time. The author writes it is indicative of his lack of understanding of sensitive political issues":
The former Mayor’s decision to profit from a fund-raiser for tsunami victims in a politically sensitive state is only the most vivid example of how small a role his political ambitions have apparently played in his personal calculations. At times, he has shown a willingness to trade in political capital for, well, real capital. He has given his speeches to a wide range of organizations around the world with little apparent attention to American politics. And his firm hasn’t been shy about taking on politically unpopular clients, including the owner of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester and the pharmaceutical industry.
....“I assume that the people who gave to the charity assumed their money was going to tsunami relief, not Giuliani relief,” said Howard Wolfson, the spokesman for the New York State Democratic Party. “It raises the same old questions about Mr. Giuliani’s judgment, that somehow the same standards and rules that apply to others don’t apply to him. “It’s wrong to take money for charity appearances. Mr. Giuliani ought to know that,” said Mr. Wolfson, who is also an advisor to Senator Hillary Clinton.