Alan Cumming on Marriage EqualityThe actor and gay activist voices support for the beleaguered governor — and disdain for naysayer (and potential political foe) Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani Wasn’t Always Down on ‘Cosmopolitan’ CitiesThough Giuliani’s mockery of Obama’s ‘cosmopolitan’ background was absurd on its face, we bothered to go back and find a time when the word didn’t seem like such a slur to him.
ByDan Amira
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Giuliani Softens Up Democrats for Powerhouse PalinSarah Palin hit it out of the park last night. But the carefully calibrated buildup of last night’s speeches shows Republicans may not have been as confident as they seemed afterward.
Who is the Stubborn Politician?Today’s ‘Times’ story today on the problems the rich face in therapy contains a rather juicy blind item.
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McCain’s Potential Running Mates: A Who’s WhoIt’s easy enough to pinpoint exactly who this year’s Republican vice-presidential candidate should be — but Arnold Schwarzenegger is not eligible for the post.
cultural capital
New York’s Greatest Divorces: Your Handy GuideChristie Brinkley and Peter Cook’s divorce will be messy, sure — but they’ve got nothing on Donald, Ron, and Rudy. Let’s talk about legends, people.
company town
The Freedom Tower Has an Empty Dance CardThe Port Authority is offering it up for sale, according to the ‘Post.’ That, and more city news in our daily industry roundup.
Shelly Silver’s Shadiest Maneuvers: A Brief HistoryBy declining to vote on Bloomberg’s congestion-pricing plan, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver seemed to once again fulfill his role the state government’s resident stick-in-the-mud.
gossipmonger
Rudy Daughter Caroline Drops the ‘Giuliani’Plus, Joan Rivers and Barbara Corcoran bite at each other, Pat O’Brien only has one more chance at ‘The Insider,’ and Blake Lively is surprisingly normal — in our daily gossip roundup.
gossipmonger
Fans to Joe Torre: Did You Get a Haircut?’Joe Torre’s new look, Ashlee Simpson’s continued Saturday Night Live ban, and Rudy Giuliani’s black eye — read all about it in our daily roundup of the juice in New York’s gossip columns.
intel
Can’t Keep a Rudy Giuliani Down, No Matter How Much You Wish You CouldYou know that one Rudy, the one you couldn’t help but love for his unshaking belief in his cause and his dogged persistence in the face of adversity? Loved that movie. Anyway, the other one is considering a run for the occupied governor’s seat.
gossipmonger
Crikey! Are We Getting Madonna Back?
Madonna and Guy Richie may or may not be breaking up because Madonna “lost respect” for Richie when she found out he embellished his working-class roots. The upside: She may be moving to NYC! Matt Lauer has foolishly agreed to be roasted by the Friar’s Club. Donatella Versace is appearing at Barneys today to tout her menswear line. Foxy Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and Representative Anthony Weiner totally acted like a couple during David Paterson’s swearing-in ceremony in Albany yesterday. Mary-Louise Parker is bad at giving directions to people in the West Village, even though she lives there. Cindy Adams thinks both Andrew Cuomo and Michael Bloomberg will make runs for governor.
company town
Rudy Takes a BreatherLAW
• Now that he’s dropped out of the White House race, Rudy Giuliani plans to decompress before he starts lawyering at Bracewell & Giuliani. [Texas Lawyer]
• Oh, snap! Skadden is so not pleased about the hottest-female-associate contest that took place on the Skadden Insider blog. [Law.com]
• Perhaps Covington & Burling should have consulted its client Major League Baseball before agreeing to represent pitcher Roger Clemens. [American Lawyer]
company town
Finance Types Split Over Hillary and RomneyFINANCE
• Wall Street hopes Hillary has a super Super Tuesday, but private equity is standing by one of its own. Fourth-quarter campaign-financing reports show Senator Clinton taking in the lion’s share of donations from the Street’s top ten financial firms. Meanwhile, Bain Capital co-founder Mitt Romney is still tops among the PE crowd. [NYT/Dealbook]
• So, what’s it gonna be, boy? Stuck between Microsoft’s rock and Google’s hard place, Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang has limited options for saving his company at his disposal. [NYP]
• If you believe the latest hype, Citadel is paving the way for an IPO after all. Ken Griffin’s asset-management firm has split its proprietary hedge-fund business from its client-based options-making business. “Legally, it makes it cleaner,” said Josh Galper in an interview. [Bloomberg]
company town
Semel Out at Yahoo, Microsoft In?FINANCE
• Courtenay Semel’s dad, Terry, is out at Yahoo. And Microsoft’s $44.6 billion bid for the company might just be déjà vu. [NYT, Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Recession-has-already-started watch: The economy lost 17,000 jobs in January, the first time since the lovely tech-crash days of 2003 that total payrolls have shrunk. [Reuters via NYT]
• One of the few lucky bankers with a bonus burning a hole in your pocket? Try London restaurant Vivat Bacchus’ new “Bonus Tasting Menu” for a mere £1,000. [DealBook/NYT]
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City Rallies Behind Rudy for First Time Since 9/11When Rudy Giuliani lost Florida the other day, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley [R] suggested that his personality was responsible. “It seemed like the more people got acquainted with him, the less they liked him,” he said. This was not a groundbreaking statement — in fact, the Times used pretty much the exact same words the following day. But Grassley used two more words, words that would prove to be his undoing: It was not just Giuliani’s personality that was off-putting, he said, but his “New York personality.” Immediately, the Daily News was up in arms about the “hick senator”: “I’ve seen Grassley before,” the News quoted Curtis Sliwa as saying. “He wears polyester, waffle-weave, flame-retardant pants that look like they survived the high waters.” Jimmy Breslin called Grassley a “moron” and a “low-IQ loudmouth,” and Michael Musto told the News: “This just cements the idea that New York City should secede from the union.” In the comments, readers got in on the action. “I wouldn’t worry about Grassley’s comments,” wrote one. “After all, Iowa stands for ‘idiots out walking around.’” Some were more forgiving: “Rather than dis Senator Grassley, I sentence him to life in Iowa.” Right? How dare he suggest that New Yorkers are as arrogant and unlikable and provincial as Giuliani when obviously we’re really fucking loving warm people? Maybe if he didn’t live in stupid Hicksville, Iowa, he would know that.
Daily News Readers Blast Iowa Senator, Hick Iowa senator says N.Y. attitude cost Rudy Giuliani; Apple strikes back [NYDN]
it just happened
Breaking: John Edwards to Drop Out of RaceToday’s a big day for third-place candidates, it seems. After news spread last night that Giuliani will drop out of the Republican primary race as early as today, news hit this morning that John Edwards is planning the same thing. According to the Associated Press, the former Democratic senator will make the announcement today at 1 p.m. in New Orleans. No endorsement is yet planned.
Edwards to Quit Presidential Race [AP]
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The Beast Is Slain: Heilemann on Giuliani’s Precipitous CollapseThis past Sunday afternoon, Rudy Giuliani, his presidential bid squarely on the line, his political future hanging by a thread, rolled up in his campaign bus outside Paisano’s Gourmet Pizza in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Hizzoner had been quoted in that morning’s USA Today saying, “The rumors of my demise are premature” — a statement that called its veracity into question by its very utterance. Now, Giuliani stood before a crowd that might have just barely broken into triple digits (if you were rounding up) and delivered what had become of his stump speech. He talked about fighting Islamic terrorism, cutting taxes, and keeping Hillary Clinton from taking control of health care. Across a stream behind the restaurant, a bunch of Ron Paul supporters began chanting, “Rudy is a cross-dresser!” Giuliani was unfazed. “We have to have goals, bold goals, big goals,” he proclaimed. He mentioned that a woman up front had named her cat after him. “It’s better-looking than me,” Rudy said. “That’s one good-looking cat.” Then Giuliani brought his talk to a merciful conclusion — eight minutes and nine seconds after it commenced.
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We Can Stop Caring About the State of Florida in Five, Four …
Floridians awake today knowing that they (sort of) hold the fate of the world in their hands. With the state’s electoral track record, that’s kind of scary. It’s neck and neck between McCain and Romney up front; much further behind, Giuliani and Huckabee are also … necking. The former pair are desperately grappling; the latter, probably praying. (Okay, not Giuliani.) Which way is the wind blowing this morning, and whom does it favor?
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Giuliani: A Final Break From the Bravado?Rudy Giuliani has finally cracked and recognized that today’s Florida results could possibly signal the end of his campaign. Asked whether he would drop out after a loss today, the former mayor told reporters yesterday: “When it’s Wednesday morning, we’ll make the decision.” Since much of the press has already decided that Giuliani is dead in the water, speculation has turned to how he will drop out, and when. He’ll definitely participate in tomorrow’s Republican debate, but sources for the New York Sun argue that he won’t risk a major loss in New York State next Tuesday. If it’s proven that he’s not even popular in his home state anymore, where he made his name, it would be a blow to his reputation, would be bad for his business, Giuliani Partners, and would undermine his candidacy for a Cabinet position in the future. It’s all about the Giuliani brand name, which has made him millions as a speaker and as a consultant. As Maureen Dowd pointed out on Sunday, he’s not even likely to put up a tough fight on the way out, in order to preserve the purchase power of his name. He’ll likely last a few extra days, like Fred Thompson did after losing big in South Carolina, and then bow out quietly without drama. To think, it was less than eight years ago that he dropped out of the New York Senate race after battling a tidal wave of negative press after his high-profile split from Donna Hanover. And critics said Giuliani couldn’t change.
RUDY HINTS FLA. HIS LAST STAND [NYP]
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The Republican Debate Made Mildly Interesting!Last night’s Republican debate at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton was about as feisty as knitting lessons at the community center. It was as if the candidates, who mostly avoided attacks, were tired from the heat. Many observers handed Romney the victory for his smooth answers on the economy; McCain also did well. But Giuliani and Huckabee, while they didn’t do poorly, didn’t do much to break out of their second-tier positions in Florida. For those who missed it, we sifted the platitudes for the stuff that really matters.
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‘Times’ Endorsements Include a Pinch in the Bum for GiulianiOkay, so there was a debate last night. All of the Republican presidential candidates got together to chat about whom people should choose in the voting booth (we’ll have details for you later). But, see, you might not hear much about it because it didn’t really matter. Why not? Because the Times bogarted all of the primary discussion this morning with their unsurprisingly self-righteous endorsements. For the Democrats, they chose Hillary Clinton because they “are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience.” (Don’t worry, though, they totally heart Obama, too.) And for the Republicans, they begrudgingly chose John McCain. Except it wasn’t so much an editorial supporting McCain as it was one attempting, once and for all, to obliterate Rudy Giuliani.
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Diva Debaters: Which One Is Bigger?Hey, everybody! There’s an update in New York’s patented 2008 Electopedia. In our exhaustive look at New York’s presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, we’ve already compared the two in categories ranging from “First Love” to “Relationship With Offspring.” Today’s matchup is “Best Debate Smackdown.” Think you know when Giuliani’s elbow (or Hillary’s voice) was at its sharpest? Click through to read all about it.
Best Debate Smackdown [Electopedia]
The 2008 Electopedia [Main Page]
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Which Republican Will Instantly Restore America’s Furious Economic Might?Tonight’s Republican debate in Florida could tip voters one way or another in what is basically a four-way race (though the latest polls show McCain and Romney, about even, putting distance between themselves and Giuliani and Huckabee, also about even). With recession looming, everyone wants to know who’s going to perform a miracle on the economy once in office. The pundits, for their part, have humbly offered up their opinions on the candidates with the best fiscal credentials.
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Did Rudy Giuliani’s Use of the Mystery Method Cause Him to Blow Out the Election?Employing “Neg Theory” — insulting a woman in order to pique her romantic interest, as defined by the book The Game and the show The Pickup Artist — may work to pick up chicks, but does it work on states? Conventional wisdom would have that the Giuliani campaign’s decision to “neg” the early-primary states, opting out of campaigning in them in favor of wooing larger, delegate-rich states, was what caused his numbers to drop in polls nationwide. He would have done better there, people reasoned, had he, you know, tried. But today’s Wall Street Journal uses market data to analyze how Giuliani went from certain front-runner to “the biggest loser among the mainstream candidates” and finds that Giuliani’s recent decline is due less to his strategy than his “poor campaign.” In other words, the problem was not his game, but his personality. “Unfortunately for Mr. Giuliani,” the Journal concludes, “a candidate who is unpopular in both the early-voting small states and later-voting big states, just can’t win.” No medallions for him, either.
How Rudy’s Bet Went Wrong [WSJ]
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Which Candidates Should Worry About the Actors Who Endorsed Them? A Graphical GuideAs the primary season approaches its climax, each voter is faced with a choice: Is it better to back a candidate based upon the opportunistic ramblings of cable-news talking heads or the endorsement of the voter’s favorite actor? Folks who filter their beliefs through those of a television or movie personality risk surrendering their stake in actual issues. Then again, they’re secure in the knowledge that they’re for the same guy as the Fresh Prince. Who are these actors, and how might they help — or potentially destroy — the campaigns that are so carefully conducted by their buddies? Glad you asked! —Dan Amira
