This, too, is a special talent that not many people have. Especially when we are thrown into such a terrible situation, it is extremely difficult to have that kind of combination of skills. .
For example, for years there had been fights back and forth between City Hall and the city unions that run police, fire, ambulance, sanitation and other services. Mayor Giuliani was always involved in one dispute or another with these vital services branches of the city government. When the terrorist attacks occurred, he had to communicate well with all of them, put their differences behind them, and get things done in a short time. This was not very easy to do. There was no one who could tell him how best to accomplish these tasks under these circumstances, because no one had ever been through what he was going through. For all of that pressure to be on one person is extremely painful.
Next we must consider at what a stage of life Mr. Giuliani was when all of this happened. His personal life collapsed. His marriage failed. It was a public scandal. His two young children were caught in the middle of the divorce. It is not necessary to take sides because both sides are valid. The point is that when a major disaster struck, Mayor Giuliani's personal life was not suited best to give him support. This must have made his leadership abilities much more needed, but at the same time they must have been so much more strained.
In addition, Mayor Giuliani was recovering from prostate cancer at the time. This is not as difficult as it used to be, but again, the fact that it happened when it happened means that his external ordeal of working through the terrorist attacks, was made that much more painful and exhausting because of his physical problems. Without strong leadership skills and self-discipline developed over many years, there is no way he could have gotten himself and the city through this terrible ordeal without failure.
