| Dicker's sources are, naturally, excited about getting a guy with major name recognition and proven fund-raising ability to challenge Gillibrand, and evidently not so excited about the other guy with major name recognition and proven fund-raising ability.
And they are pretty sure that Giuliani is not interested in a gubernatorial race against Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is polling miles better that incumbent Gov. David Paterson.
Here's some common-sense analysis, from a "prominent Republican":
It makes so much sense for Rudy to run for the Senate and not try to go head-to-head with Cuomo.
He'll have an immediate national platform in the Senate. He can take the lead on homeland security and national defense and, depending on what conditions are in the country in 2012, he could run for president again.
But if he ran for governor and won, he'd have to stick around Albany for at least four years and try to solve New York's massive problems, which, frankly, everyone believes can't be fixed.
But Giuliani takes a few hits in the story, related to his behind-the-scenes campaign for the losing candidate for state GOP chairman, also from a quotable anonymous source:
He has a terrible political organization: His people are nasty and vindictive -- not a good combination -- and I hear he's pretty upset with the advice he got on all of this.
So Giuliani failed in that, just as he FAILED as the front-runner for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.
Yeah, that's the guy the Republicans think can do what no other former NYC mayor has done -- win a statewide election.
To keep this diary shorter, I won't catalog the many political and personal scandals that would make it practically impossible for Giuliani to win statewide. But, believe me, there is a cornucopia of oppo stuff on Giuliani.
Nor will I repeat all the ways that Gillibrand is doing an excellent job as Senator and will be tough for anyone, including Rudy 9/11, to beat next year.
Giuliani knows all that, and will probably pass on challenging Gillbrand, despite the entreaties of state Republicans desperate for a well-known, wealthy candidate.
Because he knows that losing to her will end his political career. |
