Rudy Giuliani's two children refuse to participate in his presidential campaign

[Laurent]

As he embarks on a campaign for the presidency, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is going forward without two people who once played supporting roles in his political life: his children, Andrew, 21, and Caroline, 17.

Andrew Giuliani has been at his father’s side in campaign commercials and inaugurations since he was a toddler, famously bounding across the stage in a rambunctious manner and mimicking his father’s rhetorical flourishes during Mr. Giuliani’s 1994 mayoral inauguration.

But Mr. Giuliani’s relationship with Andrew has grown strained and distant since his very public and bitter divorce from Andrew’s mother, Donna Hanover, and his marriage to Judith Nathan, according to Andrew and others familiar with the relationship.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Andrew, a sophomore and member of the golf team at Duke University, acknowledged having had difficulties with Ms. Nathan, and said that he and his father had recently tried to reconcile after not speaking “for a decent amount of time.”

“There’s obviously a little problem that exists between me and his wife,” the younger Mr. Giuliani said. “And we’re trying to figure that out. But as of right now it’s not working as well as we would like.”

Andrew Giuliani said he would not participate in his father’s campaign, saying his devotion to becoming a professional golfer within three years allows no time for distraction.

While he would not say how long he had been estranged from his father, others close to the family said it appeared to have been for at least a year.

Similarly, a distance appears to have developed between Mr. Giuliani and his daughter, now a high school senior who is to attend Harvard University in September.

The familial tensions come as Mr. Giuliani prepares to run for president and as other Republican contenders deploy their children as campaign assets.

Mr. Giuliani’s three marriages have already bubbled up as an issue. In February, Ann Romney, the wife of Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, noted that her husband “had only one wife” — comparing him to other leading Republican candidates who had gone through divorces.

Some campaign Web sites highlight pictures of candidates with family members, but Mr. Giuliani’s does not mention his children, though it includes photographs and mentions of Ms. Nathan.

The Giuliani campaign declined to comment about the former mayor’s relationship with his children, and Ms. Hanover did not respond to messages left at her home and office.

Mr. Giuliani once prided himself on attending all his children’s events and went to Andrew’s high school football games and Caroline’s plays. But he stopped at some point after his marriage to Ms. Nathan in 2003. He missed his son’s graduation, in 2005, and his daughter’s plays in the last 18 months, said people who attended those events.

In the interview, Andrew Giuliani spoke of his father’s campaign, aware that he would have to address his absence. He said the decision not to participate hinged on his goal of becoming a professional golfer.

“I am going to be focused on my golf for the next, well really I don’t even know for the next how long, but definitely over the next bunch of years,” he said. “So I’m not going to have time to, even if I wanted to, be in the campaign.”

He said that he and his father had recently begun trying to reconcile. “For a while there, we weren’t talking, for a decent amount of time,” Andrew said. “But lately we’ve been having more contact and trying to figure things out.”

In 1989, Ms. Hanover and Andrew, then 3, were at Mr. Giuliani’s side when he declared his mayoral candidacy. Caroline appeared with the family in campaign commercials after her birth in August that year.

When Mr. Giuliani ran in 1993, he and Andrew were featured playing baseball; Caroline appeared in a commercial blowing soap bubbles.

Sarah Kershaw contributed reporting from Durham, N.C.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/us...cs/03rudy.html

Pictures of his kids, who look nothing like him, at the link.

[lurkur]

“I am going to be focused on my golf for the next, well really I don’t even know for the next how long, but definitely over the next bunch of years,” he said. “So I’m not going to have time to, even if I wanted to, be in the campaign.”

LOL! Harsh.

[glamazon]

that guiliani kid better be good...ugh, what a fucking brat. I wouldn't talk to him either if I was related to him...

here is a photo of andrew now:

[Dean James]

Kudos to his kids for not allowing themselve to be sucked into the political machine. Because Giuliani really is a shithead, it's only fair that the rest of the country know how his own kids feel about him.

[crumpet]

I think that his kids having personal issue with him following a divorce is not something that many Americans dealing with broken families cannot relate to, it is pretty common. I'm not suggesting that I approve of how he handled his marriage/divorce on a personal level. However, his own son said it didn't mean he wouldn't be good at the job of President. It amazes me how Clinton can be given credit for being good at his job despite being an adulterer (and doing it in the White House no less!) with numerous women and abusing his authority by cheating with an intern (very inappropriate though not illegal), yet if anyone that isn't liked does something unsavory of a personal nature it is unforgiveable and seen as evidence that they aren't cut out for the job. The hypocrisy on both sides of the political coin is so annoying.

[Dean James]

I was here in nyc when Guiliani was mayor and he was a blowhard ass- he does not have the mental thickness to be president. He's just going to be a dick to the world if he doesn't get his way and we've already had enough of that. Guiliani would be a terrible president with or without the support of his children.

Having said that, I also heartily disapproved of Clinton's blowjob reception. That was an embarrassing and stupid thing. But I can separate the philandering from say, balancing the federal budget. With Rudy, he's a dick. Always was a dick, always will be a dick, and will run the country as a dick if given the opportunity.

[crumpet]

Well, I hope he gets the Republican nomination because if we have another Repub president, he seems to be by far the more moderate of the bunch.

[Mel1973]

I was recently offered tickets to see this asshole and a few others at a "get motivated" seminar ... I passed.

the thing that stood out for me reading thsi article was that he didn't even bother to attend his son's graduation .... wtf??

[Dean James]

1993 Mayoral Ad featuring Donna Hanover's speaking affectionately about her wonderful loving, caring husband. I bet she never imagined he'd divorce her ass and ditch the kids almost a decade later.

YouTube - '93 Giuliani ad with Donna Hanover and kids

[McJag]

This is what happens when you forget children DO grow up and steam roller over them without ever caring for their opinion!

[Born In A Brothel]

Good for them to steer clear, but I don't know if it will put Giuliani's run at risk. Some strategists say it will, but Reagan also was estranged from some of his children and he was voted for two terms.

The party of family values sure is funny like that.

[ediebrooks]

The estrangement and his son Andrew must be profound. Obviously, if relations with his father were more favorable, the kid would take time out of his busy schedule to campaign for his dad. I respect Andrew's honesty. Why should Andrew feel obligated to campaign for Giuliani when he obviously has reservations about him?