Giuliani meets protesters and fans in Loveland

BY REBECCA BOYLE

rboyle@fortcollinsnow.com

LOVELAND -- A small group of vocal protesters and Sept. 11 conspiracy theorists upstaged a coffee shop appearance by presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani on Saturday, shouting accusations about the 2001 terrorist attacks and prompting boos from many in attendance.

Giuliani moved slowly through a crowd outside Loveland Coffee Co., shaking hands with potential voters, when Sander Hicks, who said he was a reporter for a newspaper based in Brooklyn, N.Y., tried to ask a question.

He said, "On 9-11, when you-" and was cut off by boos. Giuliani laughed and smiled, moving through the crowd and saying little.

Hicks tried again, but to no avail. Then Giuliani stopped to say hello to Tom Buchalski, a Loveland resident and Bergen County, N.J., native, who opened his jacket so Giuliani could sign his T-shirt. It had a photo of lower Manhattan and it said "Tribute in Light 2002," commemorating the first anniversary of the attack that destroyed the World Trade Center. Giuliani signed his name to the shirt.

Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, has framed his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination largely around his experience on and after Sept. 11, after which his popularity soared and many people came to regard him as "America's mayor." He said he has proven himself capable of courage under fire.

"I think the American people are going to want steadiness, they're going to want focus, they're going want someone who has handled crisis in the past and done, not a perfect job, but a good job," he said.

Critics say being mayor is not the same as being president, and have bemoaned his lack of foreign policy experience compared with other contenders.

Giuliani said he was not surprised by the angry questioners and had in fact come to expect it.

"You get a lot of that when you're mayor of New York," he said as he moved through the crowd. "It takes all kinds to make up the world."

Most people wanted to shake Giuliani's hand or get him to sign copies of his book. But Mark Weihman wanted to learn more about the candidate.

"It shouldn't just be about shaking hands and taking pictures. There should be time for some kind of forum where people can make up their minds," he said.

Giuliani did not address the questioners. Hicks was forcibly removed from the crowd. After a few moments, he calmed down and police told him to leave; he was not arrested.

Another person asked Giuliani about Friday's news that Bernard Kerik, Giuliani's former police commissioner, friend and initial choice for Homeland Security Secretary, had been indicted on 16 counts. The charges involve allegations that he accepted free services from a construction company with ties to organized crime, which hoped Kerik would help it obtain a city license.

Giuliani said the matter was now in the hands of federal courts.

"I made a mistake, I apologize for the mistake; I should have vetted him more carefully," he said of Kerik.

Giuliani said he came to northern Colorado because he'd already been to Denver, and wants to focus on Colorado because of its earlier caucus, which has been moved up to Feb. 5.

"Colorado needs the kind of president that America needs," he said, specifically one that would focus on security, lower taxes and fixing illegal immigration. "We thought it would be good to visit this part of Colorado, and also, you've got a caucus on Feb. 5, so we're here to get votes and raise money."

After the coffee shop, Giuliani was off to private fundraisers in Windsor.

Jill and Joe Hawley, who live across an open field near the coffee shop in Loveland, brought their three kids, Vera, 9; Ricky, 7; and Anais, 5, to see Giuliani. The couple said they weren't supporting him, but wanted the kids to see a historical figure that might one day be president.

Vera said it was interesting but that she was nervous when Hicks was almost arrested.

Looking across the street at the lingering crowd of protesters, Anais asked her mother why some people don't like the president. Jill Hawley explained that he wasn't president yet, and some people didn't want him to be.

"There are 18 people running for president," she said. "Do you think we're going to agree with all of them?"

Anais smiled and shook her head.