"That's what leadership's all about," the New Yorker told reporters after the two men shared a half-hour conversation over coffee. "You can't be flexible and lead."
Nutter's dance card in the big city included conversations with top city officials about economic development, social welfare, information technology, and, of course, fighting crime.
At a late-afternoon meeting, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly didn't give the Democratic nominee any precise prescription for how to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate, which is about five times New York's on a per capita basis.
But he did talk about what he thought was working here.
New York takes two-thirds of every new crop of officers coming out of its police academy and uses them to flood zones high in violent crime. The department also makes widespread use of the tactic of stop, question and frisk - to perform weapons searches on suspicious people.
"By and large, I think the tactic has been helpful in reducing the number of guns and the amount of violence on the street," Kelly said after his closed meeting with Nutter. "It does have the potential of creating friction. If you're stopped and you didn't commit a crime, you're not too happy about that."
Nutter, who took considerable heat during the spring mayoral primary for advocating the tactic, came away reinforced in his belief that this approach could help if done right.
And he told Kelly that he'd welcome input - after the November election - about candidates for Philadelphia's next police commissioner.
"The crime numbers in New York speak for themselves," Nutter said. "What I see is a relentless pursuit to drive down the numbers, to create a [good] quality of life."
Throughout the day, as he toured various city offices, Nutter was struck by the number of young people in places of authority, which is a real contrast to Philadelphia.
