Amidst all the back and forth over extending term limits to three from two, I haven't seen any discussion of what the proposal means for prior mayors term-limited out of office - including Rudy Giuliani. In order to be constitutionally viable, this proposal needs to apply to everyone who's held office under the City Charter - including Giuliani. Anglo-American jurisprudence does not tolerate one-person-one-time exceptions to applicable law, obviously.

It's widely assumed - and New York republicans, catching a whiff of hope amidst their desolation, certainly hope for it - that Giuliani will run for governor in 2010. If he does, he'll lose, but then what?

He's not going to run for President again after his disastrous campaign, so what does that leave? That's right, the mayoralty of New York. And if Bloomberg gets a third term, there is no way he can be stopped from running, not under a Constitution that insists the laws apply equally to everyone.

[Update]: Oh, that's why nobody's written about it: because Giuliani can already run for a third term, as Dan points out in comments. Never mind.