The polls initially showed Dinkins in the lead, but, apparently, the Clinton administration decided its presence was necessary to "ensure" Dinkins' reelection. Visitors ranged from the president himself to Hillary to Al and Tipper Gore. Even House Speaker Tom Foley and other out-of-state elected officials made visits to put in their two cents for Dinkins.

       But Clinton did the Dinkins campaign no favor when he accused New Yorkers of being racists, scolding the electorate as being "unwilling to vote for people who are different than we are." The accusation was patently absurd in that Dinkins could not have become mayor in the first place without the significant white vote he received (27 percent) in 1989. In fact, Guiliani received only 7 percent of the black vote in 1989 and even less (5 percent) in 1993. But the damage was done, and not for the first time. In every major election since Clinton was elected, his support has been the kiss of death to Democratic candidates.

       DINKINS' FOLLIES

       Clinton, of course, was not totally responsible for Guiliani's victory. Dinkins helped enormously. Missteps included his inaction during the infamous Brooklyn boycott of a Korean grocer who had an argument with a black customer. What Dinkins described as the "gorgeous mosaic of New York" was beginning to crack. Because Dinkins failed to enforce a court order forbidding the boycotters from attempting to disrupt the store's business, the mayor's sense of justice came off as not being color-blind.

       Another fiasco occurred after a Washington Heights drug dealer was killed during a confrontation with a police officer. Dinkins almost reflexively sided with the drug dealer, believing claims of alleged witnesses who were later proved to be lying. Dinkins also visited the home of the "victim" to offer his condolences and even had the city pick up the tab for his funeral.