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Ernie Nardi is a 59-year-old television technician from Dykers Park, Brooklyn. It's not often that guys like Nardi get the chance to question the presidential candidates--much less dominate the national political narrative and make headlines in the Washington Post, Mother Jones and the New York Daily News. But that's exactly what Nardi did last night, when a simple webcam clip of the silver-haired New Yorker kicked off the CNN/YouTube debate and sparked a firework-filled spat between GOP frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney over illegal immigration


Introduced by moderator Anderson Cooper as a "tough-talking New Yorker," Nardi accused Giuliani of operating a "sanctuary city" while serving as Gotham mayor. "I would like to know, if you become president of the United States, will you continue to aid and abet the flight of illegal aliens into this country?" he asked. Then the spotlight shifted to the Giuliani-Romney slapfest, and Nardi vanished into the eTher. C'est la vie YouTube.

But I was curious: Giuliani's response (and the fracas that followed) surely stoked a lot of punditry and prognostication. How did it strike the guy who actually asked the question?


Not well, apparently. Reached this morning at his Brooklyn home, Nardi was proud of his role in the debate. "I landed a direct punch right out of the starting gate," he boasted. But Hizzoner's answer "surprised" him. "I thought it was flimsy," he said. "He tried to dodge it by attacking Romney, saying Romney was running a 'sanctuary mansion.' That was all nonsense. He never addressed the issue on really enforcing border security or port security."

Given a chance to ask a follow-up, Nardi, who posted his clip four months ago and had "no idea" whether it would make the cut, would've pressed the issue. "I fear for the safety of this country, while the politicians are being very lackadaisical in their approach to fully securing our borders and ports," he said. "This is in the national interest. I wanted to hear more about how he would secure the ports and stop the flow of drugs, illegal immigrants and possibly nuclear material coming across our border."

Nardi is a registered Democrat, but "at this point," he said, "that doesn't mean anything. I vote for whoever I feel is the best choice." Giuliani, it seems, has never cleared that bar. Citing Rudy's "checkered past"--including his three marriages and the controversy over his decision to keep New York's emergency command center in the Twin Towers--Nardi admits that last night merely reinforced his negative opinion of the former mayor. "It accumulates, it builds up in my mind and it turns into a rage against this guy," he said.

So who will Nardi vote for? Not a Democrat, he says: "They don't impress me." He liked Romney's answer, "but you know, there's a little uneasiness there too with Romney. Still, he's the lesser of two evils when it comes to him and Giuliani."

That said, Nardi's heart, it seems, is elsewhere. "Listen, they never give Tancredo enough time," he said. "He's the only one I really care for, is Tom Tancredo. He's the most level-headed of all of them."