Giuliani GOP’s No. 1 Running Mate

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who just six months ago seemed at the end of his political career, has been transformed into a leading Republican Party standard-bearer whose endorsements and appearances are benefiting candidates nationally--particularly California gubernatorial hopeful Bill Simon Jr.

Before Sept. 11, Giuliani was criticized from the right and the left; he was divorcing his wife, bunking with two roommates and fighting prostate cancer.

Today, Giuliani has been reborn as a hero. His support is coveted by Republican and even some Democratic candidates. And he is using his new influence to help steer money and media attention to friends and allies, especially Simon, a longtime friend to whom Giuliani has devoted more time and energy than any other candidate.

“Cameras are attracted to Rudy like bees to honey,” said Marshall Whittmann, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a conservative analyst.

Indeed, a dozen cameras greeted Giuliani and Simon Saturday as they campaigned in Hollywood. They were at each other’s sides all morning, among the shawl-wrapped Hasidic men of the crowded Chabad of Hancock Park and later strolling through Canter’s Deli.

In the synagogue, Giuliani told the congregants that Simon is “a truly exceptional person who has the same values that you do, just in a different tradition.”

At Canter’s, he pledged to do anything Simon wanted. “I’ve enlisted in his army,” Giuliani said.

That was the latest in a series of joint appearances and ads that Simon and Giuliani have produced, and their effect upon the electorate has been notable. In a Times exit poll, 30% of those who voted for Simon last week said Giuliani’s endorsement was a major influence on their decision.

Giuliani’s new national role has implications for himself and his party. It keeps him in the public eye at a time when there is no obvious next step politically for the former New York mayor--and it translates his Sept. 11 heroism into a marketable GOP asset.

Political analysts caution that no endorsement--not even one from Giuliani--can make a winner. Indeed, several of the politicians he’s endorsed since Sept. 11 have lost. But Giuliani’s presence next to a candidate draws money, credibility and a reflected glow that few politicians can deliver. And it can nudge swing voters, including Californians who may be bothered by Simon’s antiabortion, anti-gun-control views--two topics where Giuliani’s stands are more moderate than those of his endorsed candidate.

“If I were Bill Simon, who would I like to have wrap their arms around me?” asked Charles Cook who publishes the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington. “For a Republican conservative in California trying to mainstream myself as quickly as possible ... Rudy Giuliani and Colin Powell would be my choices.”

Although Republicans don’t like to use the word, Giuliani has become a celebrity, eclipsed only by the president himself and former First Lady Nancy Reagan.

On Friday night, Giuliani sat with the former first lady at a $1,000-a-plate Reagan Presidential Library Foundation fund-raiser dinner in Beverly Hills. Giuliani, the main speaker, was presented the Reagan Presidential Foundation’s Ronald Reagan Freedom Award.

An Award-Winning Backer Shares the Glory

That gave Giuliani his chance to bask in the recognition, but he also parlayed the moment into a strategic advantage for a friend: Bill Simon sat at the table with him.

Their appearance there comes as Simon is pivoting into his general election contest against Gov. Gray Davis. And Simon’s upset victory in the primary--he gained nearly 50 points in some polls over a three-month period against the far better known former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan--was in large part attributable to Giuliani’s help.

During the primary, the 57-year-old former New York mayor campaigned on two days in January in California for Simon and cut four commercials for the candidate.

He returned in February, showing up with Simon at a sold-out luncheon in Newport Beach. And in Sacramento, they descended from an airplane to the theme song from “Top Gun” and the cheers of a boisterous rally.

Giuliani intends to keep up those appearances for Simon through the general election, said Bruce Teitelbaum, the managing partner of Giuliani Partners, a business consulting firm.

“He’s made a decision that he is going to do as much as he can for as many people as he can, but of course he has time constraints,” Teitelbaum said, adding that Giuliani juggles work, a personal life and speaking engagements. He’s also received dozens of requests to speak at university commencement events, Teitelbaum said.

Since leaving office, his most high-profile campaign help has gone to Simon.

“Bill is very special,” Giuliani said Saturday. “The endorsement of Bill is obviously political. We’re both Republicans. [But] he’s someone I worked with in the U.S. attorney’s office. I watched him handle cases against the Mafia.... I’m one of the people who encouraged him to run a year and a half ago, when this seemed impossible.”

Although Simon stands out, Giuliani also has traveled to Georgia for one candidate, and more than a dozen others have requested his help.

“I have on my desk right now about 17, 18 requests from 14 different states--from the South to the West to the Northeast,” Teitelbaum said. Half of those seeking help, he said, are congressional candidates. A couple are incumbent senators. And two are Democrats--one running for Congress, another for mayor--who face non-Republican opponents.

The effect of Giuliani’s support in some races is hard to discern precisely, but analysts say he brings stature, along with exposure and money.

“Very few politicians have coattails,” Whittmann said. “What he does is he legitimizes a candidate.”

In office, he added, some of Giuliani’s biggest problems were with conservatives who opposed the mayor’s relatively liberal social agenda. Now, however, “Conservatives are seeking his support because he gives them credibility among swing voters--moderates, people in the middle with weak party identification,” Whittmann said.

GOP Liberal Now Sought by Conservatives

Although Giuliani is lending support to some candidates, his aides and others note that he has been careful not to squander his impact. His appearances are thoughtfully chosen. So far, consultants say, he has not been the kind of political star who shows up at one cocktail party for one candidate and then goes on to a dinner for another candidate in the same city on the same night.

“I don’t see him out there a lot, everywhere for everything,” said Anne Dunsmore, a professional Republican fund-raiser.

Teitelbaum said that although the requests for help are flattering, Giuliani approaches the solicitations as a chance to build party solidarity and nurture alliances with colleagues across the country.

In addition, Giuliani is rapidly building a list of people who owe him a favor, “picking up chits for the future,” said Whittman.

But what of Giuliani’s future?

“I think people will always have a warm and fuzzy feeling toward him, a respect,” said Cook. But he and others agree that Giuliani’s drawing power could dwindle in a year or two.

“This is an ADD nation,” said Cook.

Indeed, the former mayor’s sway over voters, reporters and donors may fade as the events of Sept. 11 recede further into history. That could affect Giuliani’s influence on races such as Simon’s and could temper his political ambitions, which for now are thwarted by the lack of any obvious office to seek.

“He’s all dressed up with no place to go,” Cook said. “He’s not going to run for governor against [George] Pataki.” The New York governor is seeking his third term.

“No Senate seat opens until 2004,” when Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) would be up, he added. “And Chuck Schumer is not going to be the easiest person to beat.”

There is, of course, the presidency itself. But Americans historically have been skeptical of New York mayors for the nation’s highest office, and in any event, the White House already is occupied by a Republican who will almost certainly seek reelection in 2004.

Giuliani would not discuss his ambitions Saturday. And Dunsmore says he should keep it that way; the uncertainty only enhances Giuliani’s influence and draw for other candidates.

“Keeping your visibility is keeping your options open,” she said. “You never ever want to have all your eggs in one basket.”