DOWN WITH THE IN CROWD

Remember how in high school if you tried hanging out with another group, your old friends would sabotage your popularity? Rudy Giuliani was a victim to this cruel adolescent trick this week as his all-but-announced presidential campaign enters puberty. Last week, Giuliani made a move to broaden his Republican support by hooking up with uber-right winger Ralph Reed at a fundraiser for his run for lieutenant governor of Georgia. Now, it appears rumors of Giuliani's flirting reached homeroom, and his old click is not happy. Giuliani will not be attending the New York GOP nominating convention next week because of what he calls a "scheduling conflict" (in high school you would simply have said "Thanks, but I already have plans"). A Giuliani aide, however, says the former mayor was never officially invited. It turns out, only two people can hand out invitations, and one of them is Governor Pataki, another possible presidential candidate. Expect more drama as these two battle it out be crowded Prom King.