Since it's an ill wind that blows no one good, then the September 11 attacks, for which "devastating" is an inadequate description, nonetheless weren't borne on an ill wind. Much good, you see, was blown in a couple of directions. Out-going mayor Rudy Giuliani was one of those standing upwind, and in-coming mayor Michael Bloomberg was another.

Giuliani has without question earned the encomia that have come his way nationally and internationally as a result of his tirelessly valiant response to the emergency. It was immediately clear to New Yorkers, no matter how happy they would have been to see his back as he left office, that he was heroic in dealing with the Twin Towers collapse. The demands on him meshed with strengths Mayor Giuliani had never previously been called on to display.

His weaknesses, which included regarding race relations as beneath his concern and lording it over both the police department and the schools, were forgotten. So were his Philistine response to the 'Sensations' exhibit when it was transported to the Brooklyn Museum and his shockingly ungallant announcement to the press that he was separating from his wife, Donna Hanover, before he informed her. No, despite all that, he was quickly elevated in citizens' esteem to something approaching an icon's status. So much so that he even felt confident enough to suggest he remain in City Hall past January 1, 2002, the date which by law he is required to vacate the hallowed premises. Floating the notion, by the way, was an example of his characteristic arrogance surfacing yet again, but although the populace resisted the idea, it also chose to overlook the breach.

Just about everything else Giuliani has chosen to do or stand for has been acclaimed as if he were Caesar returning from the conquest of all Gaul. (The difference is that Caesar put by the emperor's crown three times; Giuliani would likely not put it by even once.) And as it falls out now, the mayor ought to be able to capitalize on the adulation for some time to come. He's already been heralded here and abroad by people for whom he was previously just a name in local headlines. He's only recently revealed that on quitting his current position he plans to open a business about which he is otherwise vague, but few can doubt he won't also be looking diligently for the next political main chance. In a couple year's time he could challenge Charles Schumer's Senate seat.

Giuliani's having rocketed from potential Republican party has-been to power broker needs no more proof than Michael Bloomberg's ascendance. How could he fail once tapped by Giuliani? Giuliani endorsed billionaire Bloomberg, who has never held elected office, and that pretty much was that. Sure, there were other factors leading to Democrat candidate Mark Green's defeat, not the least of them Green's poison-ality. And then there was the estimated $70,000 million of his own money Bloomberg dumped into his campaign... But make no mistake, none of it would have mattered if Giuliani had turned up his nose.

The irony may be that one-time Democrat Bloomberg has been sending renewed left-of-center signals since being voted in. Which could mean that the September 11 wind may turn out to have blown good through the Giuliani-snubbed clutch of Democrat causes in New York City. While politics make strange bedfellows, good bedfellows can also make strange politics. At least that's one concerned citizen's observation.

Also by David Finkle:
COFFEE-HOUSE BLUES
THE ZEN OF JAY-WALKING
CHANGING PLACES
DARKNESS AT NOON
UNION SQUARE
MAKING IT REAL
WAKE UP CHILLUN
FLYING THE FLAG
PLEASANTVILLE