Rudy's rock

If you want to understand Rudy Giuliani do read this gripping piece from New York magazine on his relationship with his third wife, Judith. Considering how much of a vulnerability his personal life is among socially conservative Republicans, it is bizarre how keen Giuliani is push her forward—volunteering that she’d be allowed to attend cabinet meetings and the like—when the best strategy for him would be to campaign on his competence, track record and tough-on-terror image. But as Lloyd Grove, one of the best gossip columnists in the business, explains, Giuliani is like a love-sick teen around her: his speaking contract even requires that she is sat next to him at any meal that he has to to attend.

Judith has been accused of being a Becky Sharp character by her detractors. This kind of anecdote will do little to quell this talk:

Before they were married, he indulged her desire to dine regularly at Le Cirque even though the heavy cuisine tended to make him queasy. “It was almost required daily, going to Le Cirque for dinner, and Rudy used to throw up afterward, because the food was so rich,” says a witness. “But she wanted to go, because it was the place to be seen”