In his autobiography, Alfonse M. D’Amato, the former senator from New York, wrote with what may have been unintended irony that the day two decades ago on which he and Rudolph W. Giuliani donned undercover disguises to expose drug dealing was “the high point of our alliance”, according to the New York Times.
Now, the on-again, off-again, on-again relationship of Mr. D’Amato and Mr. Giuliani has taken another twist.
Not only has Mr. D’Amato been prepping Fred D. Thompson, the former television actor and senator from Tennessee, for next Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, in mock encounters he has also been playing the role of Mr. Giuliani.
Mr. D’Amato’s spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the debate preparation. The Giuliani campaign also declined to comment.
But Mr. D’Amato’s decision to play Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, is an intriguing development given their vitriolic exchanges in the past, particularly after Mr. Giuliani endorsed Mario M. Cuomo, a Democrat, for governor in 1994.
Some of Mr. D’Amato’s previous observations about the former mayor may offer some insight into Mr. Thompson’s potential line of attack.
“Rudy was first a Democrat who became a Republican just to get a job in a Republican administration, and he’s not done yet,” Mr. D’Amato complained in one of their off-again periods. “There is no philosophical underpinning to him. There is one of a total amoral philosophy.”
Read it here: Thompson Seeks an Edge