Last Friday morning, I awoke just south of Orlando to reams of newspaper stories about the assassination of Benizir Bhutto, the former premier of Pakistan.  As the theories evolved on the news channels, I headed into town to see another famous political leader, Rudolph Giuliani.

Giuliani was in town to accept the endorsement of a national police organization.  The fallen officers’ memorial next to the Orange County Courthouse was the backdrop for a nice little campaign stop.

Over the years, I have made it a point to see many famous political leaders in the flesh.  I love politics and I enjoy watching history as it is made.  So, if there is a nearby speech, I am likely to at least try to attend.  In the past, I’ve seen Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, John Glenn, Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama.  I’ve sized up the real-life stature of John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford.  I’ve sat indian style near Ronald Reagan’s boyhood fireplace in Illinois.  And I’ve shaken hands with men like John Glenn and Dan Quayle.

So far during this election cycle, I’ve been able to visit with Mike Huckabee, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden, John McCain and Dennis Kucinich.  So, I didn’t want to miss adding Giuliani to the list.

Like many other campaign stops I’ve been to, the Giuliani visit was fairly standard.  The candidate arrived about 30 minutes late.  This is par for the course as far as these things go.  Candidates for president live horrendously busy lives.  But I’d bet that campaign security officials also like the fact that a candidate’s precise location is unpredictable.  Then Giuliani gave a short speech for the local TV stations.  And then he headed on his merry way.

But what has always struck me during these campaign events is how much danger these candidates place themselves in.

During Giuliani’s Friday visit to Orlando, there were no metal detectors or security lines.  Those who wished to see the Mayor’s speech simply walked near a podium and waited.  After he arrived, I was able to walk all around Giuliani from several angles.  The local police and security men even pointed me towards the podium where Giuliani was slated to speak.

During Giuliani’s speech, I happily took photographs with my digital camera from many locations and, at times, had an unobstructed sightline to Giuliani.  Afterwards, I figured that Giuliani would want to thank his supporters, so I headed up to the group with the “Rudy” signs and hoped for a chance to shake his hand.  My guess was correct and I reached out towards the man as he walked up the courthouse steps.  The man has a vigorous handshake.

Mind you, Mayor Giuliani is a hero of 911.  And while his political fortunes have diminished in the past few days, he is still one of only a handful of people who might be president in 2009.  He is, in my mind, a prime target for terrorism.

This brings me back to Benizir Bhutto.  Much criticism has been levied at the Pakistani government for failing to protect Bhutto.  But there is almost no way to completely insulate a candidate during the heat of a campaign.  Candidates shake thousands of hands and danger could hide in any one of them.  Bhutto, herself, realized the danger and pushed forward in spite of it.  That’s courage.

It is fashionable these days to lump political leaders with lawyers, IRS agents and meter readers in the halls of opprobrium.  And they are easy targets.  They show up on TV every day, earn large salaries and control the levers of power.  But there is another side to the story.  And that story is the courage that major political figures must possess to run for high office.  Romney, Clinton, McCain, Obama, Huckabee, Edwards and Giuliani are doing something very brave right now.

And we should all feel grateful that there are still people willing to risk life and limb in order to lead.

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