As the Republican presidential primary season gets underway, two big-name Republican brands and NYC icons have been suggesting that they might run.
Rudy vs. The Donald would be a tabloid dream. How real is the prospect? Giuliani told CNN's Piers Morgan and CNBC's Larry Kudlow that he was "absolutely" considering it, adding that he would be more likely to go if Palin ran since by comparison he'd look more "moderate." Trump told GMA and Morning Joe that he too was "absolutely" thinking about it and would decide by June.
But neither has made it into 2012 poll match-ups and major commentators seem to largely regard it as look-at-me puffery. Indeed, Trump publicly flirted with a presidential run in 1999 and Giuliani with both governor and senate last year -- and both got headlines, not votes.
The one poll exception was Rasmussen, which concluded that Giuliani would be a credible candidate if Romney, Palin, Huckabee and Gingrich didn't run! In response, Celeste Katz of The Daily News wrote that "was like saying '70s girls would have put up Marty Feldman posters if John Travolta hadn't been around."
Trump seems further along in a candidacy, with a web site, ShouldTrumpRun.com, that has an online survey indicating that a remarkable Mubarak-like 67% thought he should run.
For now, each potential candidate is staying in their comfort zones -- Giuliani races to Fox Cable studios whenever there's a terrorist incident or threat repeating the mantra that "America has to stay on the offensive" while Trump hints that he may take over the bankrupt Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park. "I'd make it the highest-grossing restaurant on the planet," he said. Could the name be "Trump on the Green"?
But neither cable studios nor a restaurant for tourists comes close to the thrill and exposure of a possible presidential bid. So until the mainstream media take them more seriously, let me be the first to publish a Gotham Tale-of-the-Tape to help handicap this possible titanic contest.