Clarence Page wonders in his May 10 column why so few New Yorkers are scandalized by Rudy Giuliani’s marriage problems, advancing five reasons that somehow miss the mark.
As a New Yorker from Westchester, N.Y., currently residing in Illinois, I am surprised Mr. Page missed the most obvious reason: Illinois’ favorite daughter, Mrs. Clinton. A lot of Giuliani’s support comes from the fact that New Yorkers simply prefer a local candidate.
New Yorkers are intelligent enough to understand that prostate cancer, when caught and treated early, is not a terminal illness. They also understand that politicians, like other people, run about a 50 percent chance that their marriage will fail. In electing a senator, they vote for the candidate, not the spouse. And the fact that this Republican politician managed to get himself elected in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, not once but twice, goes a long way to show that Rudy Giuliani understands the issues of both parties, concentrating on pragmatic solutions for New York.
What New Yorkers don’t understand is why a resident of Illinois, Arkansas or Washington, D.C. (take your pick), should just waltz in and expect to get elected to the very first political job of her life. The Clintons are more than welcome to settle in New York. A lot of people from around the country and the world do. But they don’t declare themselves candidates for the highest representative office even before they vacate their old houses.
There is always the possibility that Rudy may decide to concentrate on taking care of his health and personal life and choose not to run. No problem; New York’s popular governor, George Pataki (born and raised on his father’s farm in Peekskill, on the beautiful Hudson River), would make a great candidate too. That would allow a recovered Rudy in two years to run for the Albany post. New York deserves a senator from New York. Would people in Illinois be so ready to immediately vote, for example, for Giuliani’s soon-to-be ex, Donna Hanover, if she chose to relocate here? I doubt it.
