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But in this race, as of right now, the two candidates are statistically tied among Jewish voters -- 46 percent for Clinton and 43 percent for Giuliani, according to the Quinnipiac College poll, which was taken before the incident in Ramallah.

Why is Clinton's support so soft among such traditionally reliable Democrats like Danny? He, for one, thinks that Clinton only acts "after she's had the time to assess the political implications of her actions."

Giuliani, on the other hand, "is probably the exact opposite," Danny says. "Sometimes I think he acts right away without thinking of the implications of his actions at all. And for the most part," says the Democratic voter, "I would take somebody who reacts quickly out of conviction over someone who reacts slowly based on political considerations."

The New York Times editorial board is similarly unimpressed. "In order to mount a competitive campaign, Mrs. Clinton has to reassure New Yorkers that reversals and vacillations are the errors of a novice candidate rather than typical of her approach to foreign policy."

On Nov. 15, the Democratic Party chairwoman of New York, Judith Hope, told an AP reporter that Clinton needs to "give up her day job" and focus more on her campaign. "Maybe she needs to put a cot in that house in Chappaqua and move in there," Hope said. "She may have to give her all for New York. We're a demanding group."

The next day, the Republican National Committee had a cot delivered to the White House west gate.

For its part, Clinton's campaign has been coming out swinging as of late, hammering Giuliani for flip-flopping on the proposed minimum wage increase, trying desperately to tie Giuliani to the GOP-controlled Senate. Other attempts to weigh Giuliani down with congressional Republicans followed. Clinton pointed out that a House GOP proposal to initiate a 1-percent across-the-board cut to all discretionary programs would deprive New Yorkers of millions in funding for Head Start, new police officers, education and children's nutrition programs.

Danny and Allison are no fans of the GOP Congress, but they're split on the effectiveness of Clinton's attempts to mar Giuliani's image with the stain of right-wingers down in Washington. Danny agrees that "the idea of giving up [Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's] Democratic seat in the Senate makes me somewhat hesitant to vote for Giuliani, and it does add to any other hesitation I might have." Allison, on the other hand, doesn't think about Giuliani in terms of his adding heft to the GOP's Senate majority -- for her it's just about the New York Senate race itself, functioning in something of a vacuum.

The effectiveness of this line of attack, however, is in question. Neither Danny nor Allison -- regular newspaper readers -- have heard much about the minimum wage brouhaha. Nor do they care much about the "Sensation" imbroglio at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. They don't pay much attention to political ads, nor are they aware of the flap over Clinton's ads being funded by the controversial "soft money" that has gotten her husband's administration into hot water.

For them, at this stage in the game, it still just comes down to a choice between a feisty, often needlessly combative man who has been part of New York City politics for their entire adult lives versus a clueless, aloof woman married to a disappointing character who has never previously owned so much as a birdhouse in their home state.

And whereas Danny concedes that he'll probably go back and forth on the two candidates over the next year, Allison wrinkles her nose at Clinton's mere mention. In this, Allison is not unlike a plurality of New York white women, who support Giuliani over Sister Hillary, 48 percent to 38 percent.

White women, it should be noted, have been on the winning side in every New York statewide race in almost a full decade.

"It would take a lot to get me to vote for Hillary Clinton," Allison says. "I don't think she has integrity. I think she swings and goes with the wind. Giuliani's probably better as a mayor [than he would be as a senator], but I think he knows what New Yorkers need. I'll be pretty happy to vote for him."
salon.com | Nov. 22, 1999

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