The Associated Press profiles Rudy Giuliani's infamous temper today, exploring the contrast between his currently cool demeanor and the combative weekly radio show he participated in as mayor of New York. The program was the venue for, among other things, the now infamous "ferret exchange" in which the mayor tore into a resident for complaining about a city ban on ferrets. That and other highlights after the jump.

The AP provides the following examples of Giuliani's contentious radio persona:

_Giuliani reproached the mother of a robbery suspect shot dead by police detectives: "Maybe you should ask yourself some questions about the way he was brought up and the things that happened to him. Trying to displace the responsibility for the criminal acts of your son onto these police officers is really unfair."

_Responding to a caller upset that Giuliani yanked funding for a controversial art exhibit, he said: "Anthony, you are so filled with anger and hatred at me. Take some Valium, Anthony! Anthony, calm down, baby! Take it easy!"

_He unleashed a tirade at an advocate for ferrets' rights, saying, "There is something really, really very sad about you. You need help. You need somebody to help you. I know you feel insulted by that, but I'm being honest with you. This excessive concern with little weasels is a sickness."

_When a caller upset about being cut off from food stamps and Medicaid called Giuliani a bad mayor and a criminal, Giuliani said: "There's something that's really wrong with you. ... We'll send you psychiatric help, because you seriously need it." It turned out the caller, John Hynes, had Parkinson's disease.

The article also touches on the racial tensions that plagued Giuliani's second term as mayor, noting that all the above exchanges occurred in the time period immediately following the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant. The incident sparked widespread outrage and contributed towards a dramatic collapse in his previously broad popularity.