The latest hubbub began when a new magazine, called "Talk", reserved the Brooklyn Navy Yard for a party to celebrate its first issue in August. Everything was OK until the Mayor's office caught wind of the rumor that Talk's first cover might feature none other than Public Enemy Number One: Hillary Herself.
"The Party's Over!" Rudy's office exclaimed, canceling the party and eventually admitting the real reason. It might have gone down as another example of New York style traditional dirty politics if Rudy had only kept his cool. But at his most recent press conference, the badgering started. Who made the decision to cancel the magazine's party? Why are you so afraid of a little bleached blonde barracuda? Don't you hate the way Hillary comes up here into your city and acts like she owns the place? Didn't that picture of her in a Yankee's hat make you want to puke?
Rudy started out like a pro, scoring a few points with some decent jabs of his own: "I don't think this is an issue of discrimination against somebody from Arkansas." Good one, Rudy! But after the ninth question in a row on the subject, he took the Roberto Duran "No mas" exit: "We have exhausted the subject. If there are no more questions about another subject, then I can go back to work," he shouted, and then stomped off to lick his self-inflicted wounds.
His Honor ought to be sitting pretty. Rudy's a popular mayor with a solid record of accomplishments running against a carpet bagging rookie who's burdened with heavy political baggage, legal troubles, and an army of vitriolic enemies who hold her responsible for every crime, natural disaster and sexually transmitted disease known to man. Why isn't he 50 points ahead of her?
Rudy has a few problems of his own. His police department was involved in the heavily publicized "Abner Louima stick-up-the-ass" incident, and more recently, four of them subdued Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, by shooting him 19 times in 41 shots. Not only did Rudy not chastise the officers for their lousy aim, he also made the whole thing worse by refusing to meet with minority protesters. And Hillary's not his only competition for the Senate race. Rudy's general obnoxiousness has managed to piss off the entire Republican establishment in New York state, especially former Senator (and Creep) Al D'Amato, who has picked an obscure pretty-boy congressman to run against Rudy in the primary.
In the early rounds of a bout, we watch for signs of weakness and cheer whenever we see any blood flow. We've heard that Hillary also has a nasty temper, which Bill undoubtedly sees up close whenever he tries the "Hey, baby, let's wipe the slate clean and get it on again" line. The rest of us haven't seen her blow up yet, but there are still many rounds to go. Grab a beer and light up a cigar. The party's just beginning.
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