Hamptonsgate picking up steam

Giuliani's Hamptonsgate was first reported two days ago, but it has been picking up steam ever since as all newspapers want to be in on the action and find their own exclusive information to report. As a result, Giuliani is facing a barrage of questions, the most important of which is why did he bill obscure agencies if the expenses were just for routine security?!

Going over receipts that were filed revealed that it was not just Giuliani's trips to the Hamptons to visit Judith Nathan that were billed to the city, but also hotel stays for his aides, as well as NYPD-chauffeured trips for Judith Nathan without Giuliani being present (which seems to deflate his argument that this is all stemming from his security concerns). The NYPD was also reportedly used to drive Nathan's family around... and to walk Nathan's dog!

The New York tabloids are making the most noise about this, which is fine for Rudy insofar as Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans don't read the New York Post or the Daily News. But the biggest sign that something might go terribly wrong for Giuliani is the fact that Romney avoided attacking Giuliani when asked about this on Friday.

Romney has never been shy about going negative about Giuliani, so the fact that he now thinks he does not have to add his voice to Hamptonsgate can only means that he thinks the story has legs and will do enough damage on its own in Iowa and New Hampshire. If the Romney campaign was worried Iowa and South Carolina voters would not see enough of this story, you can be sure he would have attacked Rudy harshly to make sure the story gets out there.

This will obviously test how just how much Republican voters are ready to tolerate in the personal lives of their candidates. Giuliani has already defied all expectations by getting almost no heat from the ugliness of his previous divorce and his position on social issues. So will this latest story be his undoing since it links his personal life to misuse of public use, and thus links the private to the public?