OF COURSE, if the match is made, the spin mavens will turn it into Rudy the cop vs. Hillary and that village. Right against left, tough love against easy living. They have the images pre-set.
Who thinks of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Rodham Clinton as brother and sister on the key issues of our time? But abortion, gay rights, gun control, immigration, smoking, drinking -- they're Jack and Jill, not just Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
The first thing Mrs. Clinton did as first lady was to ban smoking in the White House. One of the first things Mr. Giuliani did as mayor was to sign a bill banning smoking in restaurants, in Yankee and Shea stadiums and at the racetracks.
Is there anyone out there who thinks Mrs. Clinton wouldn't confiscate the cars of losers to the Breathalyzer?
There is a difference here between Mr. Giuliani and Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Giuliani does it from the head, Mrs. Clinton from the heart. The effect on the victims . . . well, as the philosopher said, "All executioners are alike."
Politically ambitious
We have a lot to look forward to, if it's Mr. Giuliani and Mrs. Clinton in the millennium. Can't Sen. Patrick Moynihan change his mind? But if Mr. Giuliani has national ambitions, he needs the GOP to change its soul.
A few years ago, I wrote a column saying that Mr. Giuliani would be a natural if he switched to the Democrats. This was when he came out for Mario Cuomo against George Pataki for governor. "Thanks a lot," Mr. Giuliani told me the next time I ran into him. "One day you'll get it," I answered. If he had listened to me, Mr. Giuliani would be practically a cinch for vice president, and in without question for Mr. Moynihan's seat in the Senate.
Imagine a Democrat who proved that New York City can be governed, that crime in the streets was controllable, that the murder rate could be more than halved -- a Democrat who supported abortion and gay rights and gun control and immigration.
All these things, save crime, are anathema to the Republicans. And Mr. Giuliani opposed the impeachment of President Clinton to boot. Now he appears to want the Senate seat, with Mrs. Clinton as the apparent opponent. Can he beat her? I don't think so, especially since he'll be running against history.
Uphill battle
For nearly two centuries, no mayor of New York has won higher office. And Mr. Giuliani will be going in a presidential election year where the Democrats seem to be home free -- this one looks like a landslide.
If Mrs. Clinton doesn't run -- or even if she does -- Alfonse D'Amato is not dead. He might easily beat Mr. Giuliani in a GOP primary, given his strength upstate and Mr. Giuliani's weakness.
In the end, the only guaranteed way to keep Mrs. Clinton out of the race has thus far been ignored by everybody: Get Monica Lewinsky to enter the Democratic primary against the first lady.
Sidney Zion is a columnist for the New York Daily News.
Pub Date: 3/04/99