He was heralded as Time magazine's "Man of the Year in 2001," and, now, Republican candidate Rudi Giuliani is vying to be the most powerful man in the world: the President of the United States.

Giuliani gained much recognition as the mayor of New York City during the September 11 attacks, but voters should think carefully before they elect him president. Though he shrewdly ran a city, Giuliani might not possess the expertise to run a country.

One thing that running a country demands is a cohesive plan of action. Giuliani has a plan called his "12 Commitments," but some of these goals conflict with each other.

Giuliani says that he wants to reduce government spending and cut taxes. That may or may not be a good idea, but, regardless, this approach hardly seems compatible with the foreign policy part of his plan.

Not only does Giuliani intend to finish the war in Iraq, he intends to keep on the offensive in the "War on Terror." He also wants to end illegal immigration and told students at Iowa State that he intends to intimidate China and Russia with a larger military, according to the Des Moines Register.

The last several years have made clear the financial burden of war. Whatever merits Giuliani's foreign policy has, it will not come cheaply and definitely does not seem plausible with reduced government spending or tax cuts.

Furthermore, Giuliani intends to improve America's reputation and to increase the country's involvement in global trade as part of his planned foreign policy. This commitment does not fit in well with the rest of his otherwise aggressive foreign policy. How does Giuliani expect to get America involved in world trade if he is trying to scare potential trading partners with our military might?

Ross Anderson is a freshman undeclared in his major

Even when Giuliani's commitments don't contradict, there are still concerns about whether or not he will follow through on some of them. For instance, he promises to appoint strict constructionist judges who would seek to uphold laws as they were originally intended. While he may promise that, in all of his years as mayor, Giuliani repeatedly appointed judges that stepped outside those bounds.

One judge Giuliani appointed denied the dismissal of prostitution charges against two strip clubs when their dancers gave lap dances to undercover cops. The judge "claimed that changing 'cultural and sexual practices' of the previous two decades permitted him to alter the definition of prostitution." Such a reinterpretation of the law does not hold with the strict constructionist philosophy (source: http://politico.com/news/stories/0207/2957.html).

Granted, presidents have always been hard pressed to deliver on their promises. However, this particular issue is different because it would be out of character for Giuliani to appoint strict constructionist judges. Maybe he has changed his mind since being mayor of New York City simply to gain Republican support.

One final thing that a good president needs is strong character. Having a president with strong morals is no minor detail. A country is often judged by its leader, and so America needs one who will represent this country well.

Giuliani has, on occasion, blatantly spoken distortions of fact. In May, Chris Matthews pointed out one such distortion during his news program "Hardball." Matthews reported that Giuliani falsely claimed, on "The David Letterman Show," that former President Bill Clinton's policy in Iraq was regime change and that the Iraq war was a continuation of Clinton's plan. Matthews noted that the action Clinton took was merely to support political opposition.

Why did Giuliani distort the truth? The same reason any politician does--to make him or herself look better. The Republican Party has been blamed by many for the situation in Iraq and Giuliani was trying to spread the blame to Democrats and take some of the heat off of himself.

Not only has Giuliani lied, but he has had two divorces and several alleged affairs. He promises to uphold the sanctity of marriage by keeping it between one man and one woman, but there is more to marriage than it being a heterosexual relationship. It is a life-long commitment, one which he has failed to uphold.

It is hard to know how effective a president's policies will be, and the issues that a president must make a stand on are subject to heated debate, but there are some things by which voters can judge a potential candidate, such as his or her intentions and character.

Giuliani has, despite his success as a mayor, shown himself to be unable to make a cohesive plan for his presidency. Furthermore, his platform is full of contradicting commitments, and his personal life reeks of poor morals. If nothing else, such faults should lead voters to look for a more reliable candidate.