"I saw the film today and I thought it was excellent. I wanted to see it on the big screen and waited for it to come to New York. You are a superb film maker and you captured Lee perfectly! He was a complicated man with a fascinating story. It would have been easy to make him only a villain and shallow. You took the time to paint a far more complete story."

In a brief telephone interview just now, Rollins said, “At think at this point and time, it’s just throwing names out there and there’s not any serious consideration. They’re still struggling with the legislation.” He added, “I don’t think there’s anybody saying ‘Hey, lets make Michael Bloomberg the economic czar.' It’s no more serious than McCain throwing Andrew Cuomo’s name as S.E.C. chairman.”

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton said she thinks Bloomberg is good, but that there are lots of experts around.

• Obviously, Rollins brings a measure of Beltway-media credibility to Huckabee, who, despite his surging poll numbers, is still dismissed by most of the insider class as an affable rube who's in way over his head. Having someone with Rollins' background running the campaign will also inspire confidence among potential donors, another area where Huckabee has lagged.
• While he is a big name, it's also been a while since the 64-year-old Rollins played at this level. His last foray into presidential politics came in the spring of 1992, when he and Democrat Hamilton Jordan briefly ran Ross Perot's budding third party campaign, an unmitigated disaster that collapsed thanks in large part to a personality clash between Rollins and Perot. Prior to that, Rollins made his name as Ronald Reagan's (first term) political advisor and as Reagan's campaign manager in 1984, when the President won a 49-state re-election landslide. The Republican Party of 2008 is dramatically different from the mid-'80s G.O.P.—even Peggy Noonan wonders if Reagan himself would succeed in the current Republican Party.
• Rollins' return is sort of a redemption story. The Perot debacle damaged his standing within the G.O.P., and he became a pariah a year afterward, when, after leading Christie Whitman's narrow win over New Jersey Governor Jim Florio, he bragged about paying off black ministers to suppress the black vote in urban New Jersey—a boast he later claimed to be making up. No evidence of any payments ever emerged and Rollins was never charged with anything, but the demand for his serviced dried up as a result of the controversy. More recently, he's found a role as a television commentator. His last campaign was decidedly B-list in nature: K.T. McFarland's losing bid for the G.O.P. Senate nomination in New York last year. In Huckabee, Rollins has found a ticket back into the big leagues; and with Rollins, Huckabee suddenly looks like a more serious threat to win the nomination.

One footnote: As K.T. McFarland's campaign manager, Rollins accused her opponent, John Spencer, of bigamy for fathering children as part of a long-term extramarital affair. Now that Huckabee's main rival is Mitt Romney, it’s fair to wonder what Rollins is going to have to say about Romney’s Mormonism.

skornacki@observer.com

Political consultant Ed Rollins thinks the Democrats, rather than any of Giuliani's Republican opponents, are the ones who can really capitalize on it.

Rollins, who has worked on Ronald Reagan's re-election campaign and ran the campaign of a G.O.P. senate candidate against Hillary Clinton last year, told me, “Certainly what Republicans will do with it won’t matter as much as what Democrats will do with it, if he becomes the nominee.”

He added, “Suppose he’s the nominee in March or April. Trial goes on six months from now. Every single day. New York Times, L.A. Times, every single other newspaper is [writing about] Rudy’s Corrupt Cop. It diminishes somewhat, the ‘I was super mayor. I made all these wonderful things happen.’ So I think to a certain extent it’s serious.”

The best, most obvious explanation for his ascent is that he's taking a job that, for now, no one else wants.

But outspoken GOP strategist Ed Rollins, at least, is happy with the choice. "As a party boss," he said, "there's nobody better."

Rollins made the unlikely argument that Mondello is, at this point, enough of an outsider to tackle an organization that needs a complete overhaul. "The role is different when you don't have any state offices...He's got to build a totally independent fund-raising organization," and build the party "from the grassroots."

Solid logic? Or wishful thinking?

-- Azi Paybarah

KT McFarland spends yesterday being trailed by reporters asking her to respond to her brother's assertion that she's "evil."

Then, at a fundraiser last night, KT supporter"Bud" McFarlane tells Ben that all the personal stuff coming out about his Reagan administration colleague is the Post's fault. Ed Rollins backs him up.

And today, well, there's more.

"Off-message" doesn't really do it justice.

-- Josh Benson

As KT McFarland shakes off today's Post report and prepares for her big fund-raiser tonight with all those Reagan-era Cold Warriors, Rob Ryan wonders (aloud, to us) what one attendee thinks about a recent statement from KT campaign manager Ed Rollins.

The attendee: General P.X. Kelley, former commandant of the Marine Corps.

The statement, from a recet New York Magazine story, was that "There were so many guys getting killed in Vietnam that it wasn't so difficult [for Spencer to be made first lieutenant]--and it wasn't so difficult to get a Bronze Star."

McFarland's campaign said that Rollins has already addressed the comment ("I never intended to cast
aspersions on John Spencer's military record. I have only respect for anyone who has served or is serving our country,") and argued that they are focused only on Spencer's record as Mayor of Yonkers.

Ryan doesn't buy it: "KT McFarland has Ed Rollins and his surrogates throw mud and then she sits there and acts oblivious to everything that goes on around her. She has to be accountable for the actions of her staff."

- Jason Horowitz

The Times reports that Democrats are going after Northeast Republicans, attempting to win back the house; and on Tom Suozzi's unveiled property tax plan.

The Sun reports on Mike Bloomberg and eminent domain; and George Pataki may be courting Suozzi as a successor.

—Nicole Brydson

Down in Florida, he trashed his candidate, Katherine Harris, and is now -- no surprise -- leaving that campaign.

Here in New York, Steve Minarik has decided that picking a fight with Rollins might be the last straw for KT. But she's standing by her man. Here's her statement:

At some point one has to ask: Who cares?

The Times reports that Hillary Clinton's strategy for winning in 2008 might be winning in 2006.

The Albany Times Union reports that less than one in five donors to John Spencer's campaign is from New York.

And the Sun reports that Charles Hynes plans to try Clarence Norman a fourth time.

—Nicole Brydson