Democratic Underground - Giuliani Hurt By Kerik Nomination Scandal

Illicit affairs, mob ties, a secret love nest. The hijinks of Bernard Kerik, disgraced just as he aspired to join President Bush's Cabinet, have also bruised the reputation of former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, seen by many as a White House contender in 2008.

The abrupt withdrawal of Kerik, New York's former police commissioner, from consideration as the next U.S. Homeland Security chief has opened a floodgate of revelations and titillating headlines this week about Kerik's life.

One newspaper dug up two affairs that the bald, stout Kerik carried on at the same time while married -- one with a city jail officer, which sparked lawsuits. The other affair with top publisher Judith Regan included trysts in an apartment first used by exhausted rescuers after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Local papers also say Kerik failed to disclose expensive gifts and had ties to companies suspected of organized crime connections.

Comedians are having fun. Listing the "Top Ten" ways Saddam Hussein celebrated the anniversary of his capture, television host David Letterman said Hussein "counted his blessings that he ain't Bernard Kerik."

Officially, Kerik said he pulled his name from consideration over failure to pay taxes for a family nanny.

Observers say the fallout lands squarely on Giuliani, who has a successful consulting business with Kerik and vouched for his credentials as homeland security czar.

Many think Giuliani is weighing a White House run. That, say political analysts, will require winning over Republicans who dislike his more liberal positions on social issues.

full article may be found here: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041216/pl_nm/politics_giuliani_dc

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