Over at the very respectable City Journal, Rudy Giuliani has just published an essay (more like a white paper) that is supposed to get him some attention in the presidential race. The subject, as expected, is homeland security, and most of it is very well-done, if boring - until the end. Giuliani says any homeland security plan needs to focus on “prevention, preparedness, and resilience,” and that’s what his essay discusses. The last one - resilience - is the freshest and most intriguing.

A resilient society depends on active, engaged citizens. The way for Washington to encourage resilience is not to throw more money at problems or to place new burdens on business. Government should harness the inherent strength of the American people and the private sector in order to build a society that may bend-but not break-if catastrophe does strike.

The American people are ready, willing, and able to take a more active role in our civil defense. As the White House’s own Lessons Learned report on the federal response to Hurricane Katrina notes, faith-based organizations and community groups successfully provided support to the victims of the hurricane “in spite of, not because of, the government.” Within 72 hours of Katrina’s hitting the Gulf Coast, for instance, a faith-based nonprofit organization-Helping Americans Needing Disaster Support (Hands)- formed to speed delivery of supplies to victims. Just a week after being created, Hands was sending 75 truckloads of supplies for every one FEMA truckload.

Giuliani’s secret weapon in this campaign is his focus on the future, on what’s to be done about this and that. Ron Paul sometimes seems stuck in the past (a rhetorical no-no if you’re trying to get people to elect you in the future), Huck and Mitt seem stuck in the present-tense of who’s the more likable Christian (another rhetorical no-no that lessens discussion of the future). Plans like Giuliani’s might seem less interesting than the Mormon vs. Baptist thing, but Giuliani keeps his rhetoric in the future tense (What’s to be done), and that just might get him elected.

Is attending a NASCAR race hazardous to your health? Apparently staffers who organized a House Homeland Security Committee fact-finding trip to tracks in Talladega, Ala., and Concord, N.C., think so. The congressional aides assigned to study public health preparedness at mass gatherings such as races were advised to get vaccinations for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and influenza before heading down South.

In a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Robin Hayes wrote, “I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, N.C., I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown. I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else.”