GIULIANI - Considering various offers

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Today: November 10, 2001 at 13:00:22 PST

Guiliani Considering Various Offers

NEW YORK (AP) - After being lauded even by one-time political opponents for his work following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, what does Rudolph Giuliani do next?

The 56-year-old mayor, who leaves City Hall on Dec. 31 to make way for Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, has generally dismissed questions about his future.

But thanks to the reviews he got for his handling of the city's fragile psyche since the World Trade Center attacks, he has no shortage of opportunities.

That is, if you believe the gossip on talk radio and in the corridors of power at the city's corporations, law firms, media companies and, especially, at City Hall.

Friends say he's gotten offers from a variety of private firms in New York, Washington and overseas, some apparently serious, others less so.

Rumors have Giuliani becoming director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a radio talk show host, governor, Major League Baseball commissioner, car salesman, head of the agency charged with rebuilding the trade center site, and mayor again - though City Hall isn't an option under current law.

Not bad for a guy who three months ago was a lame-duck mayor in a city with a severe case of Rudy fatigue.

In the months before Sept. 11, whenever Giuliani made headlines it often was due to his bitter divorce case.

His calm under the fire of the trade center attacks and his reassuring empathy changed all that.

"The world is his oyster, and he can pick and choose because he leaves with a great deal of goodwill, or at least none of the ill will he had before Sept. 11," said former Mayor Ed Koch, a Democrat who wrote a 1999 book about the mayor called "Giuliani: Nasty Man."

Even the Rev. Al Sharpton, who persistently accused the mayor of being insensitive to the needs of minorities, said Giuliani had "done a good job. I have no criticism."

Giuliani's first priorities are likely to be finding a place to live and settling his divorce.

Several months ago, Giuliani left the official Gracie Mansion to his estranged wife, Donna Hanover, and their two children, and has since been rooming with Howard Koeppel, a friend and campaign contributor who owns one of the city's big car dealerships.

He stripped Hanover of her "official hostess" duties and transferred several members of her city-paid staff. He ordered the Police Department to provide protection for his girlfriend, Judith Nathan, 45, who became the city's de facto first lady, appearing with him at official functions.

In court papers, Giuliani has claimed to have only $7,000 in assets.

However, he has a $3 million contract with Talk Miramax to write two books: an autobiography, and a guide to management titled "Leadership" scheduled to be released in June.

A Giuliani adviser said Friday that the mayor also is considering a run for governor if Gov. George Pataki decides not to run for a third term next year - and that Giuliani might even run for mayor again in 2005 if Bloomberg's term is not successful and the term limit rule is changed.

There's no guarantee of a role in the Bloomberg administration. "You have to give up and pass on the reins," Bloomberg responded when asked.

As for the CIA or baseball, the jobs are filled.

"I don't know if they want a Yankees zealot heading baseball," said Democratic political consultant George Arzt.

Giuliani himself is giving no clues.

Asked last week about his plans, he smiled. "Right field for the Yankees," he said, swinging an imaginary baseball bat.

-- Anonymous, November 10, 2001


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