What's Next In New York?
The political question of the moment is how Republican Senate candidate and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's cancer struggle will affect his campaign battle against Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Friday morning, during an impromptu interview at City Hall in lower Manhattan, that picture became a bit clearer.
"I feel great," the mayor told CBS News Correspondent Diana Olick. But even Giuliani had to admit he is not going full speed ahead.
"I'll have a campaign schedule, but it will be lighter. I will eliminate maybe half of the events or something like that," the mayor said, without offering specific details.
Giuliani's top advisers are saying that, unless doctors rule the mayor must undergo extensive treatment, the campaign still appears to be in effect.
"The doctors think they caught this at the very early stages. We think we're going to beat this," Giuliani campaign manager Bruce Teitelbaum told CBS News Friday morning.
As the mayor weighs his future, political wheels are already spinning the prospects of a back-up candidate.
"If Mayor Guiliani drops out of the race, it's almost certain that Congressman Rick Lazio will take over as the Republican nominee," says political analyst Charlie Cook.
Lazio, a pro-choice, four-term GOP congressman and assistant majority leader of the house, reluctantly bowed out of the race last fall. But in February, he said he is the better candidate, even if he is a relative unknown in New York, and a nobody nationally.
Some say a Lazio-Clinton matchup could be close, forcing the first lady to campaign on the issues, instead of her celebrity.
"If this election is about Mrs. Clinton, she loses. If it's about Rudy Giuliani, he loses, " says Cook. "So a different candidate coming into the mix could completely change the nature of the race."
The trouble for any new candidate is that this is the most expensive Senate race in history. And by law, Giuliani cannot transfer his money directly to another candidate. In fact, there is already talk that if he backs out, the mayor will save his $9 million campaign war chest and run for governor down the road.