Rudy's Shadow

He's Even A Factor In Virginia

(CBS)  In her latest Political Points commentary, CBS News Senior Political Editor Dotty Lynch looks at a lame duck's not-inconsiderable influence.

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Democrats may have thwarted Rudy Giuliani's wish to extend his term as Mayor of New York but, as the campaigns of 2001 wrap up, Giuliani's presence is huge. For the past week he has been front and center on national TV as the New York Yankees pulled out three big wins in a row against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Senator John McCain, himself no slouch to national media opportunities, was at Guiliani's side for two of the three pummelings. McCain is trying to lure Giuliani to Phoenix for the final games of the World Series and told the New York Daily News that when Giuliani's face was flashed on Phoenix's JumboPark screen last week "he got a prolonged standing ovation. He's America's mayor now", McCain said.

Immediately following Sept. 11, Giuliani was advised on communications strategy by McCain's political guru John Weaver and many have speculated on Giuliani's national ambitions. Now suddenly, in the final week of the campaign, it is not George Bush or Dick Cheney appearing in ads for Republican candidates, but the Mayor of New York City.

In New York his endorsement of Republican Mike Bloomberg was viewed as coming late and somewhat tepid (The New York Times, which has endorsed Mark Green, put it on page A29) but Bloomberg compensated by allocating a slice of his $40-plus million campaign budget for a 60-second ad which was as much a valedictory by Giuliani as an endorsement of Bloomberg.

In New Jersey in a 30-second TV ad, Giuliani tries to calm the fears, mainly of women voters, who are concerned about Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler's views on concealed weapons. Referring to Schundler as his friend, Giuliani says, "Bret will not change current gun laws — he never wanted to."

The strangest place that Giuliani has popped up is Virginia where the trailing Republican candidate for governor, Mark Earley, pulled his negative ads and replaced them for the final weekend with the boy from Brooklyn.

Sitting in an office draped with flags, Giuliani proclaims that, if he were a Virginian, he'd vote for Earley. "Now, more than ever, Virginia and America need real leadership," the mayor says.

The Earley campaign originally planned to use President Bush for its ultimate endorsement but Mr. Bush has decided to stay above the fray and, rather than use some pre-Sept. 11 pictures of Earley with President Bush, the campaign decided to roll the dice with Giuliani.

Giuliani's clout and the issue of rebuilding New York will get their ultimate test on Tuesday. While Bloomberg is pushing his business expertise and ability to manage and rebuild New York, Democrat Mark Green has taken a page from the playbook of rival Fernando Ferrer and is stressing education over rebuilding downtown. His first negative d has been an attack on Bloomberg for allegedly being against computers in schools, favoring vouchers and being "wrong for kids." (In fact, Bloomberg has merely said that there might be an over-emphasis on computers at the expense of fundamentals such as reading and writing and that vouchers might be an interesting idea.)

After the bitter primary, Green needs to solidify his support from black and Hispanic voters. Democratic strategists have said that while New York's minority voters are upset about the Sept. 11 attacks, they are worried that efforts to rebuild the financial center will take resources away from their communities, and especially from the school system. A Democratic pollster said that in focus groups with white voters, all the conversation is about Sept. 11, terrorism and anthrax. "With black and Hispanic voters, you have to raise the issue in order to get their views," he said.

On Thursday, Green had lunch at Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too restaurant in Harlem with new New Yorker Bill Clinton. After a meal of ribs, jerk chicken and banana pudding pie (a meal "designed to shorten both our lives" according to Mr. Clinton), the former president gave a rather backhanded endorsement to Green.

"I've known him a long time. He's smart, he works like crazy, he learns. No one is born knowing everything you need to know to be mayor. So you have to pick people who have a capacity to grow. I know Mark Green. He has the capacity to grow, and he can do the job well." He added (back on message) that Green's difference with Bloomberg on education "couldn't be clearer."

Hillary and Bill Clinton were expected to do a $2 million fundraiser for Green on Friday night, and Mr. Clinton and Fernando Ferrer are on recorded phone messages to target groups for Green. Next week, Ted Kennedy, the ultimate Democratic warhorse, will be campaigning for Green in New York and for McGreevey in New Jersey.

But America's Mayor is the man of the moment — and people are buzzing about where Rudy will pop up next.