Posted on 01/07/2007 11:46:24 AM PST by wagglebee
THERE is one woman who could cause Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, more problems than Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House: she is Donna Hanover, his second wife, writes Sarah Baxter.
Hanover, an actress and broadcaster, was enraged by Giuliani’s flagrant infidelity towards the end of their 18-year marriage and the divorce case was vicious. Giuliani’s advisers fear that she could be a loose cannon in the 2008 campaign.
Giuliani was acclaimed as the “mayor of America” for his heroic role during the attacks on September 11, 2001 and is revered for his leadership. At the time he was living in the spare room of an apartment belonging to gay friends after Hanover forced him out of Gracie Mansion, the official residence.
Hanover refused to confirm that she would vote for Giuliani as mayor of New York even when she was married to him. “What kind of wife is that?” Raoul Felder, Giuliani’s lawyer, fumed. “She’s essentially saying she’s not going to vote for him.”
Hanover once stood outside a shower at Gracie Mansion, expecting to confront Judith Nathan, Giuliani’s mistress, now his third wife. In the event, a startled golfing friend of Giuliani’s emerged.
Hanover was also accused of a lack of sympathy while the former mayor was battling prostate cancer, by banishing him to a spare bedroom and exercising noisily on a treadmill at 5am.
New Yorkers relished the details of Giuliani’s larger-than-life personal story. But conservative “values voters” could be different, as Giuliani’s own aides noted in a 140-page memo leaked last week by supporters of a rival candidate.
The campaign dossier suggested that Hanover could be one of several potentially “insurmountable” vulnerabilities that could cause him to drop out of the race. It was an embarrassing start to a campaign that is not yet officially under way.
Giuliani’s record in fighting crime and terrorism has placed him at the top of several polls for the 2008 Republican nomination, edging out Senator John McCain in popular support. But the party base may be turned off by his support for abortion, immigration, gun control and gay rights (although not gay marriage). It is their votes that he needs to secure the nomination.
“It would be one thing if Giuliani could say, ‘I’m a strong social conservative in my private life’, but he can’t even say that,” said Ramesh Ponnuru, a conservative commentator and author of The Party of Death, an attack on social liberalism. “It’s not just the fact of his multiple marriages, it is the way the Hanover marriage melted down. It was operatic.”
When Giuliani met Hanover on a blind date in the early 1980s, his first marriage to Regina, his second cousin, was already over. Hanover, who went on to appear in the television series Ally McBeal, was a glamorous soulmate who seemed to enjoy the spotlight as much as he did.
They had two children, Andrew, 21, and Caroline, 17, but in 1996 Hanover stopped calling herself by his last name and a year later Vanity Fair magazine said that he was having an “intimate relationship” with a senior member of his staff.
In 2000, without telling Hanover first, Giuliani announced at a press conference that he was separating from her. She retaliated by accusing him of being unfaithful with the employee, but he was already with Nathan.
Maggie Gallagher, a family values campaigner, was outraged by Giuliani’s “scummy” performance, accusing him of making Bill Clinton “look good as a husband and father”.
New Yorkers learnt during the divorce case that their cancer- afflicted mayor was temporarily impotent and Hanover demanded a huge settlement, including £760 a month to care for Goalie, the family’s golden retriever.
Felder struck back, accusing Hanover of being an “uncaring mother” who was “howling like a stuck pig”.
In the end Giuliani, who was beginning to earn big consultancy fees after September 11, agreed to a settlement of $6.8m to avoid the full horror of a court case.
Hanover has married Ed Oster, her university sweetheart, and written a book, My Boyfriend’s Back, about rekindling an old romance. Even if she stays mum, there is enough in the public domain to rattle conservatives. Yet however vicious the personal attacks on Giuliani, they are unlikely to dent his reputation for competence. He did, after all, handle the September 11 attacks while bunking with gay friends in the midst of an affair and a divorce battle.
Rudy is unabashedly liberal on gay marriage and all-phase abortion. Not only is the ex-wife a liability, so is the current one. She's nice, but she's not up to the task of countrywide campaigning, much like Therese Kerry was not a helpmate.
And there you have it.
And .. Hillary will be standing in the wings handing her money to make Rudy's life miserable.
I would never put it past Hillary to try this game .. especially since Rudy is one of her highest rated opponents which I'm sure she would like to vanquish.
And .. Hillary might get a little help from McCain - so he would become the top dog for the GOP nomination.
This is the part of politics I hate the most.
Mcinsane and Hillary! (TM USmedia) both are better qualified than he in this particular regard.
" Mcinsane and Hillary! (TM USmedia) both are better qualified than he in this particular regard."
What about John Kerry? He has three purple hearts, you know. Did you know Kerry fought in Vietnam? /s
Do you believe Rudy lived with a Gay couple?
"I didn't ask anything about "humor." I haven't mentioned "humor." If you think it's funny, that's fine. No harm in jokes. I simply didn't find that Rudy had done anything illegal or morally wrong--contrary to a number of people on this thread."
Well, don't you find it funny that Rudy goes to family reunions to pick up chicks?
Well....Rudy's judgement was real flawed about his girlfriend. Bringing her to Gracie Mansion with his wife and kids in residence is a big no-no. Clinton was a scumbag in the marital department too. And we rightfully blasted him for it. We'll have a real problem trying to excuse Rudy in the face of Clinton's behavior.
I suggest Rudy supporters just lie and say he commanded the NY City national guard...
I'd vote for Rudy
> I would agree. However, I've heard several stories as far as the reasoning. One suggests SHE asked to have the papers served to her there.
The operative facts are that Newt was a philandering POS who chose to divorce the mother of his children while she was in the midst of fighting cancer.
Liberal or conservative, it is awfully scummy behavior, and I would never trust anyone who exhibited such a callous disregard for plain human decency.
Agree, no need to bring up the personal details about Ronald Reagan.
I think the larger point is that men are mortals, and have shortcomings and weaknesses. It is only when the weaknesses and shortcomings outweigh the strengths and the positives, and when they interfere with the job he is doing, that they become important to me.
Case in point. Bill Clinton and his WINO. Moral bankrupcy and total corruption. If he were faithful to his wife, would it make him any less venal or corrupt? Screwing the country is a lot worse than screwing another woman.
I wasn't here at the F.R. during the 2000 primaries but I would imagine it was as divided then as it is now. It sure was during the Arnold vs. McClintock CA recall era a few years ago. Somehow out of both of those, Republicans managed to win.
Last time I checked, FR was a CONSERVATIVE forum, not withstanding the fact that there seem to be a lot of libertarians and RINOs here.
"Illegal immigration may not be a signature social issue, like gay marriage or abortion, or creationism, or prayer in schools, but it sort of is."
Is there anything you don't consider a "social issue?"
Yes, but frankly, George Bush isn't boring. Brownback....major yawn and he's even boring looking. Sorry, he won't play well in the big cities and I doubt the little ones, either.
"I don't care if Rudy had sex with a goat."
I would and the vast majority would precisely because it would go to the core of his character.
"Conservatives need to leave the social issues ALONE. That's right, stop pontificating about moral values for once and start cutting taxes, fighting a real war on terror, and limiting the size of government. When these are taking care of, the social issues will take care of themselves."
That's not sound conservative thought. That's libertarianism.
"I believe in the long run republicans will support Rudy over McCain .McCain and Hillary are the same."
That's because their stand on so many issues is the same.
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