5/11/00 12:05 p.m.
Fall From Gracie
A wild Wednesday in the Big Apple.

Robert A. George is an editorial page writer
for the New York Post--------------------------------------------RAGGEDmail@aol.com

s one distraught conservative activist put it, "I haven't seen anything like this since Impeachment Day, when Livingston admitted his affair and abruptly resigned."

Well, after the developments of May 10, 2000, the world knows that there is one major difference between two very public dysfunctional marriages: Unlike the Clintons, in the Hanover-Giuliani relationship, despite his electoral success, SHE is the far better politician.

How else to interpret the nuclear bomb that the First Lady of New York City dropped Wednesday? It was a short statement — only 121 words — but a devastating personal and political document.

The bizarre events began with Rudy Giuliani using an early-afternoon press briefing to stammer through an admission that he and his reporter-actress wife, Donna Hanover, were separating. The conference was odd in that, usually, when a politician wants to get the bad news out of the way, that person gives a prepared statement at the beginning and then lets the press know whether there will be follow-up questions.

This time, Giuliani proceeded in a quiet, halting, near-rambling tone — certainly not the image of the assertive mayor that voters and supporters have come to expect:

"This is very, very painful. For quite some time it's probably been apparent that Donna and I lead in many ways independent and separate lives. It's been a very painful road and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to formalize that in a, in an agreement that protects our children, gives them all the security and all the protection they deserve and protects Donna. And that's something we have to work out and we have to strive toward and — you know, I'm a public person, I'm elected to public office. I do my job, I think, honestly and effectively and as well as I can. And I, you know, I realize that my private life is open to everyone..."

And then, in response to a question whether Donna Hanover would move out of Gracie Mansion, the official residence, Giuliani responded: "Nobody, nobody, nobody is, nobody is moving anywhere. Everybody is secure and safe. What I said is that we should try to work out a separation agreement."

And that's how the mayor announced his separation to the world.

There could not be a sharper contrast in Hanover's response three hours later. Her second sentence, "I had hoped that we could keep this marriage together," is personal. The third sentence is the explicit political missile that may ultimately end up forcing Rudy Giuliani out of this race: "For several years it was difficult to participate in Rudy's public life because of his relationship with one of his staff members." Hanover's spokeswoman confirmed that this was a reference to a long-rumored affair between the mayor and his former communications director Cristyne Lategano.

The affair had been previously referenced back in 1997 in both New York and Vanity Fair magazines. Both Giuliani and Lategano denied it. Upon leaving City Hall, Lategano took a position with the city's non-profit tourism bureau.

Hanover's words were also markedly different from recent actions that were rather supportive of her estranged husband. Following the news that Giuliani had prostate cancer, Hanover postponed her performance in feminist playwright Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues," citing "personal considerations." The fact she had even accepted in the first place had people speculating on the state of the mayor's marriage. But, just three days ago — after the mayor admitted that he had a "very good friend" — 46-year old divorcee Judith Nathan — Hanover declared, outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral, where she went to pay her respects to Cardinal O'Connor, that "this man and this marriage are very precious to me." At that moment, though, as she stated that "decisions" would have to be made, Hanover could have not done much more to appear in the best possible light.

Admittedly, she is a real actress and knows how to emote, but it would have been hard to fake the look of hurt and strain in her face and body Wednesday as she delivered the statement testifying to the collapse of her marriage. Of course, such emotions were understandable as it turned out that Giuliani went ahead with his announcement without letting his wife know ahead of time! Reports circulated that Hanover didn't know what he had done until the media called her spokesperson for a comment.

That might explain the fury of the response. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned — or kept out of the loop.

Hanover is no fool. She knew the impact of revealing her husband's previous infidelity. It makes him a very public liar. It raises issues of a man having an affair with a subordinate — all on the public dime. In short, it pushes Rudy Giuliani far closer to Bill Clinton than any appearance with his "very good friend" Judith Nathan ever could. Lategano is no Monica Lewinsky. By all accounts, she was a very competent communications director and advisor to Giuliani. But such distinctions ultimately fade by the time the story hits the street. Furthermore, while Giuliani's political foes held their fire when Nathan's name surfaced, the Hanover bombshell caused a few gloves to be taken off.

Wednesday night, Rev. Al Sharpton called for an investigation into Lategano's current job and whether there was a quid pro quo for her getting the position. This is all political, of course, but Hanover has given Giuliani's enemies a powerful sword with which to call into question both his moral integrity and his judgment. Hounded by reporters, Lategano stated, "I have no desire to speculate why Donna Hanover decided to issue the statement that she did."

Truthfully, Giuliani has provided the current weapon. From the moment he admitted his relationship with Nathan, he should have been asking Hanover exactly what she wanted to allow their marriage to dissolve in as painless a way as possible. It would have been awkward, but an agreement could have been reached, perhaps a shared brief appearance or simultaneously released statement explaining their separation and a request that the media respect their privacy out of concern for their two young children.

Instead, Giuliani's decision to go public with his "separation" without clarifying it with Hanover beforehand is so bizarre that one must speculate whether it is a side effect of the antibiotics he is now on. The mayor admitted that the medication (often prescribed following a cancer diagnosis) made him feel warm and uncomfortable. If it caused him to lose concentration enough that he rambled into creating a personal and political crisis, then he has to give serious consideration to withdrawing from the Senate race as soon as possible. Even if the antibiotics are not responsible, the entire episode seriously calls into question both his personal AND political judgment.

Fittingly, the weather over New York City perfectly complemented the personal storm enveloping its mayor: thundershowers, fog, blustering winds. But, of course, barely seen, barely heard and completely serene — holding fast to the old political adage not to do anything while your opponent is in the middle of imploding — Hillary Clinton was upstate wistfully preparing for a "town hall" meeting on Thursday's Today show. Perhaps, during a quiet moment, her mind drifted back to last October when she and Bill celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary. And who knows? Perhaps she cracked a smile.