Giuliani Refuses to Say He Won’t Run

New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, facing public agony over a midlife crisis, attempted Thursday to quash speculation that he will drop out of his U.S. Senate race against Hillary Rodham Clinton because of his multiple personal problems: a dissolving marriage, prostate cancer and a new romance with a divorcee that has blossomed in the tabloids.

At his first public appearance on Thursday, Giuliani employed a Mark Twain maxim to bring levity to what has to be the debacle of his 55 years: “Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.”

He made it clear that he is not ready to quit and would make his decision in the next week or so based on his medical treatment. He spent 2 1/2 hours with one doctor Thursday morning and, after his public appearance, had an appointment with another doctor.

“I haven’t made up my mind, whether I have the energy and the capacity to run,” he said the day after he publicly confirmed that his 16-year marriage was at an end. “I may; I may not. I made no decision [Wednesday].”

It was at a City Hall news conference Wednesday that he unexpectedly let drop that he and his wife, Donna Hanover, an actress and television journalist, were likely to end their troubled marriage.

The drama continued later when Hanover, caught unaware, delivered a misty-eyed reaction in front of Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. The Giulianis, although estranged, have been living there with their two children, Andrew, 14 and Caroline, 10. Hanover gave her side of their breakup, in brief, including a hint that her husband’s earlier affair with an aide was the catalyst.

Of course, this was not news to New Yorkers, who had read relentlessly in the newspapers in the late 1990s about Giuliani’s liaison with press secretary Cristyne Lategano. (She left City Hall a year ago and married in February.) The plot thickened in April, first when Giuliani revealed his prostate cancer and again last week when he confirmed that Judith Nathan, 45, a divorced mother and registered nurse is a “good friend.” (Again, this was old news to New York: Paparrazzi had caught them brunching on the Upper East Side days before.)

But while the details were no surprise to a knowing New York public, the mayor’s response has been. Rather than being commanding, if not autocratic, he has appeared vulnerable and confused as he has talked about his problems.

The political fallout is equally unclear. Seeing their take-command mayor falter, nearly contrite, was jarring to many New Yorkers.

“I don’t really care about politics right now,” Giuliani said Wednesday. “I’m thinking about my family, the people that I love. Politics comes at least second, maybe third, maybe fourth, somewhere else at least.”

Not surprisingly, President Clinton, memorable for his infidelity and public humiliation, was among those who felt Giuliani’s pain Thursday.

“I think everybody in New York and everybody in America ought to be rooting for the human side of this to work out,” Clinton said when asked by reporters for his reaction. “We should wish him well in his struggle over his illness. We should wish that family well. We should want the best for their children. And we should want some space for all of them, out of the glare of publicity, to work their family issues out.”

The first lady, candidate Clinton, who conventional wisdom says would be best served if a weakened Giuliani stays in the race, had less to say about the mayor’s problems.

“I just don’t think anyone should comment on what they’re going through,” she said in an hourlong live appearance on NBC-TV’s “Today” show. “I’m going to, out of respect for him and his family, have nothing to say about it.”

One of her political allies in Washington, asking anonymity, was more loquacious:

“The first thing to remember is that New York is still a very Catholic state, particularly in the suburbs, and that could hurt the mayor if he stays in. Now if [Gov. George] Pataki gets in he’d be hard to beat. He’s got money, charm, people don’t hate him. . . . Now, [Rep. Rick] Lazio [R-Long Island] already has two or three million dollars. On the other hand, no Republican has as good a foothold as Giuliani.”

If GOP state leaders were similarly gaming it out among themselves, they weren’t admitting it.

“The mayor is our candidate, and he’s deciding the best course of treatment and we’re with him all the way,” said Dan Allen, the state party spokesman. “He is our guy. He is the guy. Look at his actions: They speak louder than words.”

Allen pointed out that Giuliani, although feverish and suffering from an infection related to his cancer, has kept a brisk public schedule. In addition to a dedication at police headquarters and that raw emotional news conference, the mayor attended a fund-raiser Wednesday night in Westchester County. This weekend he is scheduled to campaign upstate.