Leonard Levitt writes his own column for his blog (which looks inside the New York City Police Department)  every week…..he’s a former crime reporter for New York’s Newsday newspaper…..in this weeks piece he reimds us of all the things we may have forgotten (I haven’t ) about the former Mayor of the City of New York……

November 23, 2009

So Rudy Giuliani is apparently not running for governor and is dithering about whether to try for the Senate.

We’ve lived through this melodrama before.

A decade ago, after months of indecision following his battle with prostate cancer and his split from wife Donna Hanover, he backed out of a Senate race against Hillary Clinton.

His excuse then was that he was a man of deeds more than words, and that his heart belonged to New York City, and not the U.S. Senate. Translation: As mayor, he loved giving orders.

Does that mean he’s not going to run this time against Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand? Even with a reported 15-point lead in the polls? Well, just remember his 2007 presidential flame-out after he began as the Republican front-runner.

As a candidate now, Giuliani’s problems go beyond appointing a crook as the 40th police commissioner of New York City. More important, in Your Humble Servant’s opinion, are his children, who refused to campaign for him in the past.

Is daughter Caroline, whose graduation from Harvard Rudy reportedly boycotted, still not speaking to him? And God knows what’s up with Andrew who, when last heard from, was suing Duke University for tossing him off its golf team.

Giuliani may indeed be a disaster as a father and a husband, but this doesn’t mean he wouldn’t make an excellent Senator, or governor for that matter.

Forget the nonsense from his chum, former Staten Island Congressman and borough president Guy Molinari, that Giuliani declined to run because he feared he wouldn’t be effective in Albany. What he really feared was running against Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic attorney general who is killing Giuliani in the polls.

Indeed, if anyone in New York State can solve the problems of dysfunctional Albany, it is Rudy Giuliani. Put another way, if Giuliani can’t, no one can.

Rather, Giuliani’s problem as a politician is that, while he can solve monumental problems like governing New York City, he creates equally monumental problems because of his personality and character.

For examples, turn to his two terms as mayor, including his six-years as de facto NYPD commissioner.

With Bill Bratton as police commissioner from 1994-96, Giuliani did nothing less than revolutionize the culture of the NYPD. He and Bratton stopped a lot of blood-letting in the streets and shook up a once-proud department whose overwhelmed leadership had literally given up on taming crime. Bratton spawned new systems and new leaders, beginning 15 years of dramatic, then steady, crime declines under the city’s three successive police commissioners.

After the 9/ll attacks, Giuliani inspired the city. Picture Michael Bloomberg in that role and you’ll see why Giuliani will long be remembered when Bloomberg is long forgotten.

What has damaged Giuliani are his own demons. He fired Bratton after only two years with no credible explanation, citing trips Bratton had taken on private jets paid for by wealthy Wall Street friends. This reporter, who followed each twist of their tortured relationship, concluded that Rudy fired Bratton solely because Bratton was receiving too much publicity — at Rudy’s expense.

Those same demons reappeared in 2001 at the end of his second term. Then, he sought to amend the city charter, to extend his term for three months. He told voters — and maybe even believed it — that New York could not survive 9/ll without him.

To his credit, he backed down when mayoral opponent Fernando Ferrer called him on it. Former mayor Ed Koch put it best: If Rudy cared so much about the city, he should remain for three months — under the new mayor. (Too bad Koch didn’t make the same proposal to Bloomberg eight years later when he subverted democracy to gain a third term by buying off the City Council a la Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.)

Then, after firing Bratton, what did Giuliani do? He appointed crony Howard Safir. Crime continued to fall but the pressure to keep it down led to one of most outrageous acts in department history: the 41-shot barrage of police bullets that killed an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo.

To avoid testifying on the shooting before the City Council, Safir pleaded a “scheduling conflict.” Turns out, the conflict was his secret trip to Hollywood.

The night before the council hearing, he was spotted on national television at the Oscars, standing next to actress Helen Hunt.

Even worse, he had allowed the Revlon Corporation to fly him out to the coast on its private jet, and pay for his stay at a four-star Beverly Hills hotel.

Rudy never criticized Safir for the freebee trip as he had Bratton.

But, because this column, which at that time appeared in Newsday, carried updates on the Conflict of Interest Board’s four-corner stall in investigating Safir, he was forced to reimburse Revlon $7,100 for his Oscar excursion.

Then there’s Bernie Kerik, Giuliani’s former bodyguard and driver, who is headed for the slammer. Giuliani appointed him police commissioner despite the warnings of his staff and signals from the Department of Investigation of troubles in Kerik’s past.

Meanwhile, on the home front, Giuliani was cheating on Donna, who believed he was having an affair with his press secretary, Cristyne Lategano. (She denied it, saying that had she been a man, all the time she spent with Giuliani would not have caught anyone’s attention.)

Rudy then jilted her, divorced Donna, and took up with a new girlfriend, Judy Nathan, now his wife.

Sources say she is urging him not to run because during his presidential bid, the media beat her up pretty badly.

But when Giuliani makes decisions, he listens to only one person, often to his own detriment —

So before I went on sabbatical at the beginning of October, we were questioning two things. One was health care reform. The other, at least in New York, was what Rudy Giuliani was going to do with his life. And while the former is as funked up as if ever was, we’re starting to get clarity on the second.

I’ve always been in the Rudy for Senate camp. Yes, in a perfect world, Rudy would be governor. In a perfect world, people would see that the NY Democrat Party, while being in control of all branches of state government AND a wholly owned subsidiary of the labor unions, has kinda screwed things up to a fair thee well and Andrew Cuomo wouldn’t be trouncing the competition.

But the NY GOP at least still needs Rudy at the top of the ticket, and the Senate seems to be a perfect fit. The polls are in his favor, both the President and current Senator Gillibrand (the blue dog turned employee of liberal special interest groups enlightened progressive) keep lobbing him softballs, and flipping a seat in NY would be HUGE.

Apparently Hizonner is starting to see things my way…

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided against running for governor, but is strongly considering running for U.S. Senate instead, sources told the Daily News.

The Republican heavyweight was considered the GOP’s best shot at reclaiming the governor’s mansion. The only declared candidate on the Republican side is little-known former Long Island Rep. Rick Lazio.

One source said Giuliani is prepared to run for U.S. Senate against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand next year to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton’s term.

I think what sealed it was the Obama Campaign deciding to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as an American citizen as opposed to a war criminal (which is a blog post for an entire other time), giving Giuliani the reasoning he needed to go to Washington and take care of business, out of a sense of civic duty, put America’s national security interests first, etc. I’m also sure the fourteen point leade he current has over Gillibrand doesn’t hurt matters either.

And like I said, we need him at the top of the ticket to help the rest of the party ESPECIALLY if you look at the internal numbers and see that Rudy pulls a lot of Democrat support as well.

As with all things Rudy Giuliani it’s all a waiting game, but at least it’s beginning to look like we won’t be waiting much longer.

I’ve been a big fan of Rudy Giuliani for years, since long before he became a household name.  I though and still think that he would make a great president, and I was certainly sure that he could give Hillary Clinton, the  sure 2008 democratic candidate (Bara-who?) at the very least, a good run for her money.  But it just didn’t happen.  At all. 

I still see him on the talking head shows a lot, and he’s great.  So much better at articulating views of people like me than anyone else out there, than McCain, Romney, Palin, anyone.  But, as brilliant as he can be, he’s  just awful at the follow-through.  And he’s doing it again:

No, yes, maybe — it’s Rudy time again.

No to governor. Yes to Senator. Or maybe the man they used to call “America’s Mayor” — used to — will never really decide.

There’s plenty of precedent for skepticism when it comes to the political pronouncement of Rudy Giuliani.

This is the candidate who abandoned his battle-of-the-titans Senate run against Hillary Clinton.
He’s the shoo-in who said “no thank you” to the top Homeland Security job, touting Bernie Kerik instead. Most spectacularly, he’s the one whose high-expectations campaign for president campaign was over almost before it began.

And now, the ex-mayor’s closest advisers are whispering up another storm:

His lengthy flirtation with the 2010 governor’s race, they say, is being tossed on the growing pile marked “Rudy’s Might Have Beens.” Instead, he’s signaling his interest in next year’s Senate race.
Rudy should rush to a print shop right now. He should place an order a big load of bumper stickers, yard signs and palm cards. That way, he’ll have them for the next 17 Rudy-for-whatever campaign.

Oh, Rudy, why do you keep toying with us?

Krystle points out that Rudy Giuliani is leaning towards taking on Hillary-clone Kirsten Gillbrand for the NY Senate Special in 2010. She points out that Governor may be a better fit for “America’s Mayor.” However, there’s an untold story. From Political Wire on October 26th:

“Andrew Cuomo has secretly notified Rudy Giuliani that he will run for governor next year,” according to the New York Post.

“The confidential message, conveyed through intermediaries, was delivered to Giuliani recently and is expected to play a central role in the former mayor’s impending decision on whether to run as the Republican candidate for governor in 2010, sources with knowledge of the situation said.”

Less than a month later:

“Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year after months of considering a candidacy, according to people who have been told of the decision,” the New York Times writes. “It remains unclear whether the former mayor is considering any other political race in 2010. Some have urged him to take on Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who is newly installed in office, has never run statewide and is still introducing herself to voters in some areas. Mr. Giuliani is said to have made no decision about such a race.”

I think either race would be a good fit for Rudy, and frankly, Cuomo is probably too much for even Rudy. As a long time NY operator, he knows the continuing legacy of the name and is smart to move on to where he can do best. For conservatives and Republicans, I think its an overall win. Yes, Giuliani is notably liberal when it comes to the trifecta of guns, god and gays. But he scored a number of points during his abortive 2008 run for President by leaning towards a states rights perspective on these hot button issues, a position that has become a rallying cry for many conservatives these days. I anticipate that on the issues of the day (massive government expansion in more areas than one can count), Rudy would be a reliable vote. On social issues, I think Rudy is more of an open book than one would believe, given that his position on these issues are drawn mainly from his past statements versus actual policy (outside of the gun issue). Only time will tell, but I’m cautiously optimistic that Rudy is much better than Collins or Specter. Again, let’s remember: it is New York, people. I can see Rudy running a McDonnell-esque campaign, but for opposite reasons from McDonnell–not to draw the middle in, but to keep the base in line, particularly if the newly minted Obama Democrats of 2008 are as unexcited about electoral participation as they were in 2009.

More troubling: the prospects that Rudy is gunning for a 2012 presidential run. I think if Rudy was ever going to have a chance it would have been 2008 (particularly if Cheney had been dumped in 2004 and replaced with Rudy, but what’s past is prologue. Giuliani’s camp participated in person in an RNC hearing regarding the 2012 primary schedule. Also participating in-person were the Huckabee and Hunter camps, while the Paul, Thompson and Romney camps sent written statements. McCain did not participate (course, he has his own issues these days, to say nothing of his age and “two time loser” status disqualifying him from even speculation). Giuliani’s participation may have come more from the fact that Mike DuHaime, his campaign manager, is a big timer in national Republican circles. Still, the thought that Rudy may try to muddy the waters further in what will be an apocalyptic battle to define our party in 2012 is frightening to any conservative.

So let Rudy go where he will do the most good: the Senate.

(Trivia time: The exclamation mark next to Rudy’s name in this post’s title is a reference to what other moderate NY Republican. Hints: drug laws, stop Goldwater, and Gerald Ford.)

The Associated Press is reporting what some had been whispering all day today: former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani is strongly considering a run for the Senate. This comes on the heels of his apparent decision to drop out of the race for governor.

Here is the story from AP:

ALBANY, N.Y. – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, encouraged by many Republicans to run for governor in 2010, is instead leaning toward a run for U.S. Senate, according to two party advisers.

“From staff, we have been hearing that he has been indicating quietly and privately recently that governor might not be the best fit for him now,” one adviser said Thursday. “But the U.S. Senate could be a perfect fit for him.”

The adviser noted that nobody is saying Giuliani has decided, but it “certainly sounds” like he is less interested in running for governor. Another adviser echoed that.

The advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak for the state Republican Party or Giuliani.

The New York Times, citing unidentified people told of the decision, reported Thursday that Giuliani, 65, wouldn’t run for governor after months of considering it.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella disputed that report, saying he told her Thursday that he hadn’t made a decision.

“When he comes to that decision he’ll let everyone know,” Comella said. Asked whether that meant Giuliani was still considering a run for governor, she said: “Correct.”

Republicans have been watching polls showing that Giuliani, who came to be known as “America’s mayor” when he saw grieving New Yorkers through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, would beatDemocratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a hypothetical matchup in the Senate race next year. Gillibrand was appointed this year to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton’s unexpired term when she became secretary of state.

Polls also show Giuliani trailing in a possible matchup with Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the popular state attorney general amassing a large campaign fund.

Cuomo hasn’t announced a run for the office, once held by his father, Mario, but is widely expected to. He dropped out before a primary in the 2002 governor’s race because he lacked support.

A Marist College poll this month found that Cuomo would beat Giuliani for governor, 53 percent to 43 percent. But Giuliani leads Gillibrand 54 percent to 40 percent in a possible Senate run.

“Clearly, running for the U.S. Senate is a far smarter move for him, particularly if has any national aspirations,” Marist pollster Lee Miringoff said.

The poll surveyed 805 registered voters on Nov. 12, Monday and Tuesday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Former Rep. Sherwood Bohlert, a moderate New York Republican who served 24 years in Congress, called Giuliani “a leader of the party nationally, not just in New York,” and said he thinks the former mayor would have an impact in Washington.

“Maybe another moderate in the Senate in Republican ranks would help bring the majority to their senses,” Bohlert said.

Republicans in Albany were energized.

“I think, certainly, Rudy Giuliani would be a great U.S. senator and bring a unique perspective,” said New York Assembly Republican leader Brian Kolb. He hasn’t heard confirmation of the mayor’s decision, but also believes Giuliani is leaning toward a Senate run.

“We should look at who is the best person for the job, first and foremost, and I think Rudy Giuliani is that guy,” Kolb said.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson was skeptical of the reports when asked for comment Thursday. “If you don’t mind I’d just rather wait for the mayor,” he said.

Giuliani ran for Senate in 2000 in what was to be a titanic clash with Clinton. He withdrew when he found out he had cancer, which he has since beaten. He also withdrew from last year’s presidential race, lacking support for the GOP nomination.

A third Republican adviser said Giuliani is expected to give Rick Lazio, the only announced Republican in the race, early notice of his decision. The adviser wasn’t authorized to speak for the party and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“We don’t know what Rudy Giuliani is going to do,” Lazio spokesman Barney Keller said. “We just know that Rick Lazio is running.”

Earlier this year, some Republicans talked about Giuliani as “Rudy the Savior.”

After losing the state Senate majority last fall after a half-century of rule, the GOP is shut out of every statewide office and the majorities of both houses of the Legislature for the first time in decades.

That locks the party out of critical control of patronage jobs and the power of incumbency to build electoral wins. Voter enrollment also is giving Democrats a nearly 2 to 1 advantage statewide, and growing.

***

Stick with Atlas as we assess and report the various developments in this race.

Rudy Giuliani

For your flip-flopping on your faith in the American justice system and thinking military tribunals are the only to try Gitmo detainees, and that trying them invites more terrorism to New York, you sir, are a coward.

Rudy Giuliani was pro-choice, and wasn’t against gay marriage ( and he dressed in drag more than once)…..

Just a reminder…..

Be careful what you wish for……..

Rudy Giuliani may have his eye on becoming the next U.S. Senator from New York.

FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty

Rudy Giuliani may have his eye on becoming the next U.S. Senator from New York.

The Daily News reports that the former New York mayor is strongly considering a run next year for Hillary Clinton’s old Senate seat — now filled by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

A Giuliani spokeswoman says he hasn’t made any decisions yet… quote “Rudy has a history of making up his own mind and has no problem speaking it” unquote… adding that when he decides, he’ll tell New Yorkers on his own.

The National Republican Congressional Committee says it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on any “unannounced candidates”… although they say “any credible Republican” could have a good shot at capturing New York’s senate seat.

Giuliani had earlier been considering a run for governor — but reports now say he’s decided against it. Some claim that’s because Giuliani would have likely lost the governor’s race to potential Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo – while he may have a better chance to win a senate run.

The Daily News report also suggests Giuliani could use a U.S. Senate seat as a stepping stone to run for president in 2012.

Been there, done that — and not very well either. In 2008 – Giuliani was an early favorite for the Republican presidential nomination.

But he self-destructed when he decided against putting a lot of time into the early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire… he skipped the South Carolina primary — planned to win big in Florida. He got clobbered…and that was that.

Here’s my question to you: Should Rudy Giuliani pursue a career in national politics?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

Meg
Jack, Rudy needs to go into the private sector and stay there. He has more baggage than a Grand Central porter. On TV, he comes across as strident and accusing. He has all the warmth of an attack dog. I’m afraid his best political days are behind him.

Eric in Atlanta
He’s already tried it before. 9/11 made him popular for a minute, but he didn’t connect with the people for whatever reason. I think he’d make a fine loser for the GOP, so I say go for it!

Pauly in Nevada
Nope. As a Democrat, I applaud the good work he did for New York City in his time as mayor. However, his run for president last year really bore out his flaws as a candidate for any higher office. His time on the stage as a political star has passed.

Jerry in Oklahoma City
Absolutely! He is the only Republican other than Fred Thompson that I would vote for to be president.

Steve in Iowa
Sure, all the Republican Party needs is another fear-mongering Chicken Little. Invest in hard hats, with 9/11 Rudy, the sky is always falling.

Ian in New York
I am so sick and tired of Rudy Giuliani trying to push his name back into the spotlight. He is a narcissistic hack and New Yorkers are tired of him. I welcome a run against Senator Gillibrand; he is a lazy campaigner and his loss to her could be the nail in the coffin of his political career we are all waiting for.

Mike in Oklahoma City
Shameless slimeball, he has tried to squeeze as much personal gain out of September 11th as he can.

Lucy in San Francisco
If Sarah Palin is the alternative, then yes.

Discussion has begun on the 2012 primary calendar.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Representatives from some of the top 2008 GOP presidential campaigns gathered in Washington, D.C. Thursday to urge the Republican National Committee to lock in a 2012 primary calendar as early as possible to avoid the confusion that dogged the early stages of last year’s nomination contest. One campaign manager took his recommendations a step further and suggested ending the traditional first-in-the-nation statuses of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

An RNC panel headed by party chairman Michael Steele invited the campaigns to share their views as it considers numerous possible changes to the process the party will use to nominate a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Mike DuHaime, the 2008 campaign manager for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told the panel that the three early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina should continue to hold contests early in the process, but not necessarily as the first three contests.

“I believe there needs to be greater decision-making authority given to states beyond the early states,” said DuHaime, referring to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. “If you win two out of three states, those have been our nominees. With that, 47 other states don’t have the same say.”

“I think that is ultimately not in the best interests of the party,” he added.

DuHaime went on to say that the early phase of the nomination calendar should be more geographically and ethnically diverse and that doing so could make the party more competitive in general elections.
DuHaime’s candidate did not campaign heavily in the early states and instead focused his time and energy on later contests.

Former Huckabee presidential campaign manager Chip Saltsman, whose candidate won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, defended the role of the traditional early states.

“I think it’s very important and crucial to have Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina early on in the process,” he said.

Saltsman said that he has seen during his experiences in Iowa from previous campaigns “just how seriously folks in those states take the process. Not that the other 47 states don’t. It’s an opportunity for any candidate, no matter how rich, no matter how poor, no matter how new, and no matter who’s been running for eight years.”

“This is making our candidates better candidates,” Saltsman added.

The campaigns all agreed that regardless of what the calendar eventually looks like, it will be important to lock in the schedule early so that candidates can plan and strategize accordingly. In 2008, both the Republican and Democratic primary calendars were thrown into disarray when Michigan and Florida moved their contests earlier in the process to challenge the early positioning of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

“This is something that I don’t know if there’s a perfect solution, but there needs to be a solution,” said Saltsman. “Set the rules. Set them fair. Let [the presidential campaigns] know what they are. And set them in a way that don’t change.”

Beth Myers, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s 2008 campaign manager, echoed a similar sentiment.

“I am of the belief that a campaign can plan for any calendar, but that certainty is what matters,” she said in a written statement submitted to the panel. “In other words, my primary recommendation would be that the calendar is set as early as possible so that it is known by all campaigns.”

Myers did not address the politically sensitive issue of whether Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina should remain as the first contests, but she did suggest a later start for the primary season, which began on January 3 in 2008, the earliest start of any presidential primary season in history.

“The one complaint we heard more than any other was that it started too close to the holidays,” she said. “I would urge you to mandate a start in late February or early March.”

Saltzman suggested late January as a starting point.

The RNC invited all the 2008 GOP presidential campaigns to provide feedback for Thursday’s forum. The Huckabee, Giuliani and Duncan Hunter campaigns sent representatives to testify in person. The Romney, Ron Paul and Fred Thompson campaigns submitted written statements. The remainder of the 2008 GOP field, including the campaign of Sen. John McCain, did not respond to the invitation.

The RNC is expected to finalize its rules governing the nomination process at its summer meeting next year.

According to the New York Daily News, former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani who has ditched the idea of running for Governor of New York may opt to go national as a U.S. Senator from New York. The story goes on to assert that he might try to mount another presidential campaign. To make matters even worse, Giuliani is polling well against Senator Gillibrand who replaced Secretary Hillary Clinton after her appointment to President Obama’s cabinet.

Because this story is making the rounds this morning, it is certainly worthy of a mention – particularly because it is big news here in my home state of New York. The word is: former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will say “no” to a chance at the governor’s seat in Albany – the last best hope for a GOP top dog in New York, according to most – and instead make a run for the US Senate next year … maybe.

If true, it makes perfect political sense.

Rudy’s no dope.

The chances of any Empire State Republican – even Rudy – getting anything done as governor, especially with the never-ending soap-opera that is the New York State Senate to contend with, is next to nil. Add to that the Charles Manson-like control Democrat Speaker Sheldon Silver has on the state Assembly and you have a recipe for first-class, political-career-ending ineffectiveness.

Rudy doesn’t need that, especially after his disastrous presidential bid in 2008.

From the New York Daily News:

[A] number of sources close to the former mayor said no decision has been made and a Giuliani spokeswoman downplayed the reports. “Rudy has a history of making up his own mind and has no problem speaking it,” she said. “When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own.”
…

Several weeks ago, after the idea of Giuliani running for the Senate was first floated, one of the former mayor’s closest associates shot it down. “He has said time and again that the Senate is not a job for him,” said Tony Carbonetti. “He is a chief executive, and a damn good one.” If elected to the Senate, one source said, Giuliani could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012 – rather than run for re-election to the Senate. Running for office would mean Giuliani would have to give up his lifestyle: He’s a hot commodity on TV talk shows, he rakes in big bucks for speeches and his law firm is doing well.

As much as it makes political sense for him to go after Hillary’s old Senate seat, the fact is, Rudy is not a back-seat, blend-in-with-the-crowd kind of guy. He is a center-stage, in-the-spotlight, take-charge type who plays second fiddle to no one. It’s difficult to imagine him being one part of a one-hundred person band of speech makers and policy peddlers jockeying for political position on Capitol Hill. He is, as Tony Carbonetti said, an executive. If, however, another jab at the White House is ultimately in his sights, two short years in the Senate may be doable – even if grudgingly.

Personally, I think if Rudy decides to run, he could very well reel in that Senate seat in convincing fashion, especially with the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, set to stand trial in a civilian Manhattan courtroom, courtesy the Democrats.

But he would still have to campaign, and figure out how to do it effectively. Let’s hope that in two years time he’s learned a thing or two.

If he does throw his hat into the ring, he may very well be the favorite, but it isn’t a given.

-

When talking about New York politics, the name of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani often pops up. He ran for President until the Florida primary after which he knew that he didn’t stand a chance (and money which was the main reason why he hadn’t campaigned in Iowa and New Hampshire) against John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. However, despite the fact that he hasn’t held political office for the last eight years, he is still considered a possible candidate for President in 2012, for Governor in 2010, and now for U.S. Senate in 2010. What political position should he run for though is the question to which there have been tons of speculations.

The Quinnipiac University Poll did their last survey on New York State a month ago. As you can see, Mr. Giuliani is leading to Rick Lazio in the GOP primary (74%-9% with 14% being unsure), Governor David Paterson in the general election (54%-32% – who isn’t… ah, yes – Rick Lazio – 38%-38%) but the latter doesn’t matter much because he will most likely face New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (who is leading in the primary to Mr. Paterson 61%-19% with 17% being unsure). To Mr. Cuomo, the former Mayor is losing (50%-40% with 8% being unsure).

In a race for the U.S. Senate, there are still no results. The last time New York voters were asked about Senator Kirsten Gilibrand’s approval rating was three months ago. Senator Gillibrand was favored by 33% of the registered voters who took the survey, 19% disapproved of her job, and almost half of them (48%) were unsure. In other words, voters in the state generally don’t recognize her name so far, and I doubt that anything has changed for the last three months, all the more that her approval rating and name recognition had been somewhat the same, according to the Institute’s past results.

So what should Rudy Giuliani run for

This is the question of the day. Everything so far tells me that he is going to run for the U.S. Senate. Here are other arguments that supports this hypothesis:

• Rudy Giuliani has had a certain affinity toward this position so far. He already ran for the U.S. Senate in 2000 but was diagnosed with prostate cancer and withdrew.
• His name is still often mentioned for a potential run for the GOP nomination for the general election for President in 2012. If he is elected to the U.S. Senate, it will give him a boost for attacking the White House, making him politically active in the form of voting for legislations, and his leadership skills in pushing for certain legislations, and against other, will also have a positive impact on his name recognition in addition.
• He already held an executive position (Mayor), and provided that he is elected Governor – it may not make much of a difference in the way people know him. As a Senator, he will have more potential of showing people that he knows how to get things done regardless of what kind of power he has.
• As a Senator, he will be able to talk about not just issues in New York State but also nationwide and international ones. This is a weak argument though because Governors can do it too. However, unlike Governors, Senators can vote on such issues, are more often seeked by the mainstream media for commentary on them, and also participate on Committee hearings. The latter gives Senators more of an insider position than that of a Governor.

It appears that the best option for Rudy Giuliani so far is to run for the U.S. Senate. What do you think?

This is interesting news, that former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani is now positioning to run for NY Senate next year — and not against Chuck Schumer for the full 6-year term, but against Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the remainder of Hillary Clinton’s Senate term.  

For starters, here’s what strikes us:

* Giuliani will never be president, because he dressed in drag, is pro-choice (great way to keep the base home on election day), and has a wife, Judith, who tortured and killed puppies as a surgical sutures rep in the 80s and 90s.  There is a whole Vanity Fair piece run in 2007 that spells out all the sick and perverse things the two of them have done through the years:  it’s been too long since 9/11 for Giuliani to profit off being mayor on that day, which is the only thing that would have trumped most of the negatives about him, especially for conservative voters. The GOP cannot run a moderate and expect to win because those conservatives will sit their butts home.  Learn from 2008, people. 

* It’s a BIG DEAL that Giuliani is not running for NY governor.  That means the state is in too much trouble to save.  David Paterson said it would be broke by Christmas, but this is a good indication of how bad things must really be.  It seems like Giuliani would win the gubernatorial race if he wanted it.  It’s also interesting to us that Hillary Clinton didn’t want to be governor of New York either.  Paterson is a weak governor.  If he survies the Dem nomination process, he will be a weak general election candidate.  It’s interesting Giuliani wants to head to the Senate — a place where he won’t be able to do much of anything because of Senate seniority rules.  When so much bad legislation is coming up consistently for votes, being part of the Senate is the last thing anyone should want. 

* It is interesting that Giuliani is going for Gillibrand’s two year term and not after Schumer’s 6-year term.  That means Giuliani would be either up for re-election in 2012, or he could try to run for president again.  Unless Sarah Palin backs him, he’s toast for the presidential nomination.  Sorry, but all of us here are gay and we don’t want a president who dressed in drag (that goes for you, too, Charlie Crist). We don’t care why he did it.  He did it.  It’s not appropriate for a president.  It should indeed be used against Giuliani.  As should his wife’s puppy killing (where she used live puppies, cut their stomachs open, then demonstrated how surgical sutures she was selling are used to close up wounds like that.  After her demos, the puppies were euthanized).  By 2012, America will have suffered so much under Dr. Utopia.  We really, really don’t need the Rudy and Judith Show after having gone through the adventures of Dr. and Mrs. Utopia.  

We heard rumors former Governor George Pataki was running for the Senate.  Maybe he’ll run for Schumer’s seat.  Governor Paterson humiliated HRH Princess Caroline of Kennedy and forever ruined any chance she had of becoming an elected official herself, so for that the man has our constant gratitude. We know people who’ve worked for Paterson who say he’s kind of an ass and a big baby to deal with, so we won’t be helping him in the slightest — but man, to do what he did to Princess Caroline, that guy’s forever on our Christmas card list, let us tell you.

The New York Daily News is reporting that after months of speculation, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani will not run for governor of New York, but instead run in 2010 for the Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Further speculation postulates that he’d use that as a stepping-stone to run for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012, but I think that ship has sailed already.

With Giuliani out of the race, the leading GOP candidate is little known Rep. Rick Lazio, who at this point would likely lose to the Democratic frontrunner Andrew Cuomo, although current NY Gov. David Paterson has sworn to run after railing against White House insinuations that he drop out.

Giuliani is polling better against Gillibrand than Cuomo, but running for Senate just makes more sense to me on a gut level for some reason. The article insinuates that Giuliani feels that he would be able to make an impact as governor, though I’m not sure what kind of immediate impact he’d make as a Senator – beyond galvanizing moderate and centrist support for a Republican message of fiscal responsibility and strong national defense and dispelling any notions that moderates aren’t welcome in the Republican Party.

Social conservatives may have issue with Giuliani’s stands on abortion and gay rights – quite frankly, I don’t, and disagreement on those issues shouldn’t overshadow Giuliani’s strength in other policy areas, his appeal and his effectiveness as an executive. Since I live in Ohio I have absolutely no voting influence whatsoever on the Senate and governor’s races in the Empire State. Still, I think this would be a great move for Giuliani and the New York GOP, but it’s all supposition at this point anyway.

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Poll: Giuliani on top in possible 2010 Senate showdown.

(CNN) – A new poll of New York state voters indicates Rudy Giuliani leads incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a hypothetical Senate race.

According to a Marist College survey released Thursday afternoon, 54 percent of registered voters in New York support the former New York City mayor for Senate, with four in 10 backing Gillibrand, a Democratic congresswoman from upstate New York who was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton’s former Senate seat. Gillibrand is running in 2010 to serve the final two years of Clinton’s term.

The poll indicates that Giuliani would top former New York State Gov. George Pataki 71 percent to 24 percent in a hypothetical Republican Senate primary next year. In September, Pataki wouldn’t say if he was interested in making a bid for the senate seat held by Gillibrand. Earlier this year, fellow Republican Rep. Peter King officially announced that he would not challenge Gillbrand next year.

According to the poll, Giuliani leads Gillibrand overwhelmingly among registered Republicans, tops her by 14 points among independents, and trails her by 26 points among registered Democrats. The survey indicates that New York City voters are divided between Giuliani and Gillibrand.

The Marist College poll was conducted November 12, 16 and 17, with 805 registered New York state voters questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The poll’s release comes as a spokeswoman for Giuliani says the former mayor has not made up his mind about running for New York governor next year. Maria Comella was responding to a Thurday New York Times report that quoted unnamed sources saying Giuliani had decided not to run for New York governor in 2010.

There’s speculation that if Giuliani decided against a run for governor, he might consider making a bid for the Senate. Top New York Republicans have reportedly urged Giuliani to run for the Senate in 2010.

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

Giuliani spokeswoman: No decision yet.

(CNN) — A spokeswoman for Rudy Giuliani says that the former New York City mayor has not made up his mind about running for governor next year.

Maria Comella’s comments were in response to report Thursday in the New York Times that Giuliani had decided not to run for New York governor in 2010, according to people who have been told of his decision.

“Rudy has a history of making up his own mind and has no problem speaking it. When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own,” said Comella in a statement.

Recent polls of New York State voters indicate that Giuliani holds a wide lead over former Rep. Rick Lazio, the only Republican to have declared a gubernatorial bid, in a hypothetical 2010 GOP primary match-up.

According to the surveys, Giuliani has a double-digit advantage over incumbent Democratic Gov. David Paterson in a hypothetical general election faceoff. But the polls suggest that New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has not indicated if he wants to run for governor, tops Giuliani by 10-12 points. Cuomo also easily beats Paterson in a possible Democratic primary, according to those surveys.

The polls indicate that New Yorkers have an overall favorable opinion of the former New York City mayor.

Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union with John King, Giuliani said he had not yet made up his mind regarding a run. He had previously indicated that he would make a decision before the end of the year.

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

Sarah Palin’s expert fact-checking service gives us a real doozy today (here)…

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Zacarias Moussaoui was a clown who could not keep his mouth shut, according to his old al-Qaida boss, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. But Moussaoui was surprisingly tame when tried for the 9/11 attacks — never turning the courtroom into the circus of anti-U.S. tirades that some fear Mohammed will create at his trial in New York.

And that wasn’t the only surprise during Moussaoui’s six-week 2006 sentencing trial here — a proceeding that might foreshadow how the upcoming 9/11 trial in New York will go.

Really? This tells us the following (from the conclusion of Moussaoui’s trial in May 2006)…

The twelve anonymous jurors who sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison Wednesday showed that it is possible to reconcile prosecution of terror with the rule of law. Three of the jurors went to the trouble of writing into their report that Moussaoui, despite his fealty to Al Qaeda, had but “limited knowledge” of the September 11 conspiracy. Nine of them agreed that the extraordinary violence of his childhood weighed against a death sentence. Ordinary citizens, in the shadow of a unique and heinous crime, were still capable of telling the difference between justice and blood vengeance.

For defense lawyers Moussaoui was the client from hell, for four years alternatively denouncing the court and his legal team and demanding his own execution. Yet even Moussaoui’s raving could not disguise the fundamental flaw of the government’s execution demand, which defense lawyers emphasized so tirelessly even against the wishes of their megalomanic client: Whatever his malignant intent, Moussaoui was in jail on 9/11, and even before that was peripheral to the plot.

Some jurors clearly understood that the Ashcroft-Gonzales Justice Department’s decision to press for the death penalty against Moussaoui turned a legitimate criminal prosecution into a show trial. Five years and tens of million dollars in prosecution costs were exhausted to make sure that someone would get the needle for September 11– never mind if he was only marginally culpable.

On one level, the Moussaoui trial has been so exceptional in every way that it would be misleading to read into it too many broader implications. Yet if you strip away the extraordinary circumstances represented by 9/11 and the extraordinary challenge represented by Moussaoui himself, there was much in this trial in common with standard capital trials: an emotional but factually sloppy case for execution; a volatile defendant with a family history of mental illness and extreme violence; survivor families divided by the prospect of a death sentence.

And commenting on the events preceding the trial, Dahlia Lithwick of Slate told us the following in March 2003 (before Iraq War II started – hard to remember such a time existed, but it did)…

The Moussaoui trial, a shambles almost from the first bang of the gavel, is on indefinite hold, postponed for the third time now, pending a Justice Department appeal of a ruling by the trial judge. Part of the problem is that in the year and a half since the war on terror began, the Bush administration has been unable to determine how it wants to treat captured terrorists. Legal analysts have struggled to discern a pattern in the government’s inconsistent treatment of suspects, and finally one has begun to emerge: The truly dangerous criminal masterminds are interrogated indefinitely, the insignificant bumblers are tried as dangerous criminal masterminds, and the rest are left to rot in military jails. It’s an interesting approach, but one can hardly call it justice.

And as ABC News told us here in 2007…

An apparent breakdown in communication at the CIA caused its analysts to submit inaccurate declarations in the case against convicted al Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, keeping taped interviews with enemy combatants from being reviewed in the case.

That admission came in the form of a highly redacted letter, classified Top Secret, sent from the federal prosecutors to the trial and appeals judges on the case.

The prosecutors noted that a CIA attorney informed them in September that the agency found one tape pertaining to the case, and after the prosecutors requested a more extensive review, the CIA found an additional video tape and one audio tape.

“The fact that audio/video recording of enemy combatant interrogations occurred, and that the United States was in possession of three of those recordings is, as noted, inconsistent with factual assertions in CIA declarations,” the letter noted.

The CIA had submitted declarations from 2003 to the court, stating that no recordings of interrogations existed. “The existence of the video tape however is at odds with statements in two CIA declarations submitted in this case,” the letter states.

Still, though, a trial in Federal court is the way to go against KSM and the other defendants; as Jonathan Alter of Newsweek noted here on Monday, “this will bring a faster conviction than in the military tribunals because the tribunals are uncharted waters. There’s much more room for appeal. Remember, after tribunal, there’s an appeal up to the Supreme Court and those appeals will take longer than the appeals in this case.”

And as Alter also told us, if Rudy 9iu11ani were still a prosecutor instead of a politician, he would be chomping at the proverbial bit to try the suspects in question instead of fear-mongering about why they should be locked up forever without having their day in court (and does it really need to be pointed out that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports having the trials in NYC?).

So all that remains is for our intelligence services and our system of justice to work in concert and bring convictions against the alleged 9/11 plotters. And since we now have grownups in charge who are interested in recognizing the rule of law here, as opposed to incompetent grandstanders interested only in political outcomes, I feel much better about our prospects.

Update 11/19/09: In response to this, I have a question for Rudy! – how do you feel about using the words “stupid” and “demagogue” in the same sentence, then?

(CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will headline a conference call Wednesday with national reporters to criticize the Obama administration’s decision to hold Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s trial in New York.

The call is being organized by the Republican National Committee.

Giuliani has been very vocal, including in an interview Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union with John King, about his opposition to having the trial take place in New York.

Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn

In the red corner we have Rudy Giuliani from Sunday, arguing that trying terrorists on American soil is simply the worst thing in the world, a threat to freedom, and straight cold dangerous.

And in the blue corner, we have Rudy Giuliani from 2006, arguing that trying terrorists on American soil is the essence of democracy and freedom.

So have at it, boys!

Come for the rollicking debate; stay for the inevitable comb-over jokes.

I went to see House of the Dead at the Metropolitan Opera last night.  Yes, the opera.  I like to fill my life with a bit of highbrow culture to balance out the lowbrow stuff that fills my life. To clarify, an opera loving friend (yes, one of those Ring Nuts you hear about) chooses the operas for me each year.  She knows I only like operas that are dark, depressing where lots of people suffer and/or die. No fluffy stuff for me. The House of the Dead is based on the writings of Dostoyevsky, a guy who knew a lot about crime and punishment.

There is much ado about bringing the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks to the Big Apple to stand trial.  For a change, I scratch my heard at the fuss. Has our Constitution been so shredded that people do not think that the legal system can stand on its own and mete out justice according to our laws?

As soon as motor mouth Rudy Giuliani starts banging the drum I know it is time to see what’s going on.  Rudy still lives with a 2001 calendar. He is one annoying dude who refuses to move along.  He has made a fortune off his moments of 9/11 fame and sounds the drum of ‘Danger, Will Robinson, Danger’ whenever someone will listen.

I am going to watch this trial (which might take two years to get to court) closely.  I only hope that it is not my turn to serve on the Jury.  Or then again, maybe that would be a good thing.

He will not wake up and see that the country is trying to move along.  His disastrous run for Repugnant nominee in the last round should be proof enough.  But, alas, he just cannot help himself.  He forgets that in 2009 we have video of his double speak.

Watch Jon Stewart skewers Rudy here. “We’ve all heard that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed will be tried in New York. Would you believe that Rudy Giuliani expressed conflicting opinions about trying terrorists on American soil before and after he learned he would never be president”?

Speaking of loudmouths – Stephen Colbert says ‘adios’ to Lou Dobbs: http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/?p=4294

If you missed my Sunday photo montage, check out the Central Park Zoo  snow monkeys. They were given a mirror as part of the Zoo’s ongoing enrichment program.  I happened to be at the habitat when they discovered this new addition to their home and watched their reactions.

NEW YORK, NY – Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is preparing to run for Senate in 2010, and President in 2012.

Giuliani announced yesterday that he plans on running for New York Senator in 2010.  He also said that if this was successful he would then run for the White House two years later “to get America back on track!”  He made these announcements standing on top of a box on a street corner in lower Manhattan.

Former Mayor and Republican Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani stood on a box draped in a flag for hours yesterday.  Onlookers were highly confused at the sight as they passed by going about their business.  Many started leaving spare change in a cup by his feet.

Giuliani continued to shout Republican talking points at anyone who would listen for seven straight hours.  After that, he just started shouting “9/11!  9/11!” over and over again.  At more than one point he was almost collected by police as a homeless person to be shipped to New Jersey, a policy he put into practice.

In the evening, once he had been washed off and redressed by assistants, he made an official press conference.  He insisted on still draping himself in the American flag, despite strong opinions by his staff.  Entering the stage he could be seen tugging on one end of it while his personal assistant tried to take it from him, saying “Mine.  MINE!” until eventually she let go.  Giuliani took to the stage and tried not to chew on the corner of his flag while laying out his plans to eventually become the most powerful man in the world.

Key to funding these two massive political races was his plan to copyright the phrase “9/11.”

“We will show America that we have not forgotten.  That we will never forget.  And by the grace of God we will continue to let one tragedy define us for the rest of our lives!”  The crowd went into an awkward silence and Mr. Giuliani left the stage.  He was last seen campaigning in the early hours of the morning at the bus station.