Giuliani pulls out of Senate race

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MAY 20. Faced with health and personal problems, the Mayor of New York City, Mr. Rudy Giuliani, has quit the State Senate race against the First Lady, Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Republican Party, which at one time was so confident that its candidate would give Mrs Clinton not only a tough fight for the seat but also a run for her money, is now struggling to find a replacement who will be a good match for the November showdown.

In many ways, it was expected that Mr. Giuliani will be formally taking himself out of the Senate race. Given the kind of race that the State was being exposed to, there were doubts if the Mayor had the physical stamina to withstand the rigours. He was recently diagnosed as having prostrate cancer.

At first, Mr. Giuliani tried to get through the doubts within the party and supporters, but reluctantly acknowledged that there would have to be some scaling down of the hectic schedules.

Adding to the health problem was the one on the personal life front when it was disclosed that the Mayor and his wife of 16 years were heading for formal separation. This by itself would not have been damaging but for some allegations that Mr. Giuliani may have had a relationship with one of his former aides. The two have denied a sexual relationship. Recently, there have been media reports that the Mayor had been seen on outings with a woman whom Mr. Giuliani described as a ``very good friend''.

``You realise you are not a superman and you are just a human being'', remarked Mr. Giuliani at a press gathering to announce his pulling out of the Senate race. The Mayor essentially made the point that he had decided to give priority to his health concerns. Normally a very aggressive person, the Mayor was somewhat subdued on Friday and even giving rise to doubts if he would be go through with his current assignment which has 18 months left.

It is not as though the Republican Party was totally stung by the sudden turn of events. In fact, senior party leaders must have been expecting and preparing themselves for such an event in the last few days.

With the Republican State nomination set for May 30, local leaders are rallying behind the candidacy of Mr. Rick Lazio, a Congressman from Long Island but there are indications that there would be other challengers such as Mr. Peter King, also of Long Island. But the first impressions are that the party heavyweights are looking at Mr. Lazio as a candidate who could challenge the First Lady effectively. The nomination of Mr. Lazio alone on May 30 is not going to be enough - the Grand Old Party would have to mount a major offensive by way of fund raising for this Senate seat.

For her part, Mrs Clinton and her campaign have gone about the Giuliani announcement in an expected fashion. The First Lady said she had spoken with the Mayor. ``I called him at the conclusion of his announcement to wish him well, to tell him that I knew this was a difficult decision and I certainly hope and pray... that he will have a full and speedy recovery'', Mrs Clinton remarked. Having said this, she went about her campaigning.

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