Revisiting Hillary-Rudy, Round 1

Before Rudy Giuliani withdrew from the 2000 US Senate race in New York, Hillary Clinton had become the “arms-folded sighing mother of a forever misbehaving teenager,” the New York Times writes, neutralizing her opponent’s skills and drawing out his temper. And, Salon writes, Rudy’s attempts to draw Hillary out by deliberately mischaracterizing her couldn’t save him from the bully label.

Some of Clinton's advantages—Hizzoner's unwillingness to barnstorm rural New York, his ambivalence toward the seat he was contesting—don’t seem to apply one year before Election Day 2008. But Salon reminds that the Rudy of 2000 lost every time he got aggressive; now that he’s America’s Mayor, he’ll have to channel his non-bullying side to get to Washington. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)