Count Rudy Out
Rudolph Giuliani is not going to run for Governor or for the U.S. Senate in 2010, dropping a bombshell on New York’s GOP. Giuliani, who will endorse Rick Lazio’s bid for governor, said that he wants to focus on his lucrative private enterprises. “I love public service,” the former New York City mayor told WABC-TV. “It just happens to be that right now both of these enterprises that I'm in, Bracewell & Giuliani and Giuliani Partners, are at a critical point. And I really want to devote myself to it.”
With the exception of Lazio, much of New York’s Republican Party was holding its breath to see just what Giuliani was planning to do in 2010. Initially, he was considered an easy win over Democratic incumbent David Paterson in the gubernatorial contest. Then, there was speculation that Giuliani would take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who will be defending the seat for the first time after a less than stellar appointed term. It was widely considered that Giuliani would have won that race as well.
Why pass up two chances that seem to be in the bag? Well, for starters, the gubernatorial race may not have been the easy stride that many anticipated. Paterson is so politically weak he may not even survive a primary, leaving it to State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to defend the Democrats’ hold on the governorship. A Cuomo-Giuliani match-up would, by all accounts, have been a hard-fought race whose outcome in a solidly democratic state does not necessarily favor “America’s Mayor.”
As far as the Senate race is concerned, does someone of Rudy Giuliani’s stature want to be a junior senator at age 65? Let’s face it, the U.S. Senate was once considered the pinnacle of civil politics and an august body, but lately it has little more class and decorum than a rugby scrum. It’s not hard to imagine Giuliani not wanting to be a part of it.
Then there’s Rudy himself. He exhibited great leadership after the 9/11 attacks, but there are other points against him that opponents in any future campaigns would exploit—his combative governing style, his personal relations, Bernard Kerik. Giuliani supporters dismiss these items as baseless or just old news, but they would have to be dealt with regardless.
Rudy Giuliani leaves a lot of New York Republicans broken-hearted, but he’s not walking away from politics or from the GOP. He believes that he will be more effective to the broader Republican cause by helping out various races around the country through his campaigning and fundraising efforts, and he may be right. He was a public servant for much of his life. Maybe it is as simple as the fact that he just wants to enjoy life now.