N.Y. Mayor Turns the Tables on First Lady, Visits Arkansas

New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had lunch Tuesday with some of the most prominent Republicans in Arkansas, poaching donations and talking politics in the home state of the husband of his likely rival for a U.S. Senate seat--Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“This is a very, very good opportunity for me to learn more about the rest of the country, to learn more about Arkansas, to learn more about the things that unite Republicans,” Giuliani said.

“This is a lot of fun. . . . It’s a combination of fun and serious politicking.”

Neither Clinton nor Giuliani has formally entered the race for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

But Clinton has formed an exploratory committee and is widely thought to be planning a run. Giuliani’s trip to the South is in part a response to the first lady’s so-called listening tour of New York in recent weeks.

Giuliani also plans to visit New Orleans and Alabama and hopes to raise as much as $200,000 for his expected campaign.

In Little Rock, about 60 people attended a $500-per-person fund-raising lunch that featured some polite digs at Clinton.

At an earlier news conference, Gov. Mike Huckabee joked about Giuliani: “He has never been here before. He’s never worked here. He’s never lived here. Today, he will be announcing his candidacy for some significant major office in Arkansas.”

Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s campaign spokesman, declined to comment on the mayor’s trip.