NYC-WTC_000230742

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDDAY, OCTOBER 28,2001 Bloom5erg Puts Eggs In a Basket: Giuliani's By ADAM NAGOURNEY Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's decision tO' endorse Michael R. Bloomberg at City Hall yesterday provides Mr. Bloomberg with perhaps his greatest hope for victory as he ’ moves into the final days of what his sup­ porters describe as a troubled campaign. critical question in ” the days ahead is the extent to which Mr, Giuliani invests his time and prestige in promoting the candida­ cy of Mr. Bloomberg, the Republican seek­ ing to succeed him. From this perspective, Mr. Giuliani and Mr, Bloomberg would seem to have different needs, which was quite evident when Mr. Giuliani delivered a low-key endorsement of Mr. Bloomberg late yesterday afternoon. I For Mr. Bloomberg, Mr. Giuliani’s full-' throated support is, according to people inside and outside his campaign, nothing short of critical. Mr. Bloomberg needs MrJ Giuliani to make the case that Mr. Bloom-; berg is the person best suited to carry on the mayor's legacy, to attack Mark Green, his! Democratic opponent, and to present both,', messages in television advertisements and personal appearances. I That is particularly critical, one Bloom/ berg aide said, in appealing to white Demo-; crats who supported Mr. Giuliani, but are now backing Mr. Green, to the concern of : Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign advisers. "If there is any hope for Mike, it would be Giuliani,” said former Mayor Edward I.; Koch, a Democrat, who, after endorsing opponents of Mr. Green In the Democratic primary and runoff, said he was staying publicly neutral in this contest. By contrast, Mr. Giuliani is eager to avoid being perceived as a partisan bickerer at a ! time when he is so popular, and so identified ( with the somber task of overseeing the ' city’s recovery from the World Trade Cen­ ter attack. The rnayor has limited time and appetite for squeezing campaign appearances into a schedule crammed with funerals and news briefings. He is'also.'an aide said, reluctant to invest much personal political capital in a Candidate who Mr. Giuliani’s aides say ap­ pears unlikely to defeat Mr. Green. When Mr. Bloomberg showed up at City Hall yesterday, he was accompanied by a vast contingent of aides, and a news release trumpeting his long-awaited endorsement by this popular mayor. He even brought a film crew, accompanied by David Garth, the veteran New York political consultant, to tape the event tor a television advertise-

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