For The Record

Despite having hit an icy patch in his relationship with New Yorkers over his handling of alternate-side parking issues related to the Valentine's Day ice storm, Michael Bloomberg is considered a better Mayor than his predecessor by a nearly 3-1 margin, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of 1,261 registered voters who live in the city that was concluded last week.

And not only did they give the nod to Mr. Bloomberg over Rudy Giuliani by 46 to 16 percent, those surveyed also said, 46 to 31 percent, that he would make a better President than the man who currently has a comfortable lead for the Republican nomination in national polls.

Fortunately for Mr. Giuliani, the Quinnipiac findings don't necessarily mean he would be on shaky ground if Mr. Bloomberg decided to throw his bankroll into the ring. Those polled, after all, included Democrats as well as Republicans, and it has long been known that New Yorkers are not as impressed as out-of-towners are by Mr. Giuliani, having had plenty of chances up close to see the sides of him that are less admirable than the one he showed the world on Sept. 11.

Mr. Bloomberg's favorable rating among registered city voters actually dropped 2 points - to 73 percent - compared to the previous Quinnipiac survey. That could actually be interpreted as a sign of his strength, given that he turned off significant numbers of residents with the mid-year rerouting of school buses - and his less-than-sympathetic reaction when many parents complained - and his decision (later rescinded) to have cops ticket cars for alternate-side-of-the-street violations despite his having urged people to use mass transit on the day of the ice storm.

Among those surveyed by Quinnipiac, 62 percent disapproved of his handling of the school bus issue, and 49 percent took a negative view of his allowing cars to be ticketed.

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Rudy Giuliani was hoping to raise $2 million at his Manhattan fund-raiser last week, but we believe he could have doubled the take if he asked those in attendance to buy into a pool on whether Bernie Kerik winds up in Federal prison.

The day before the fund-raiser, WNBC-TV reported that Mr. Kerik had turned down a plea bargain offered by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan that would have required him to serve jail time.

Mr. Kerik, who pleaded guilty last year in Bronx Supreme Court to improperly accepting nearly $200,000 from individuals seeking to do business with the city while he was Correction Commissioner, is being probed for possible failure to pay Federal taxes on that money. Prosecutors are also reportedly examining whether he engaged in an illegal wiretapping scheme with former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who asked him to plant a bug on her husband's boat so she could learn whether he was having an affair.

One of Mr. Kerik's lawyers, Kenneth Breen, told the New York Times that his client "rejected the plea offer because he paid his taxes and did nothing wrong."

If Mr. Kerik is ultimately indicted and the case goes to trial, the timing could be most inconvenient for Mr. Giuliani, who elevated him from campaign driver to Correction and Police Commissioner, and later recommended to President Bush that he be appointed Secretary of Homeland Security. That nomination crashed and burned when reports of Mr. Kerik's multiple dubious transactions and associations came to the surface.

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Our best wishes to Ginger Adams Otis, who has given up the sedate life of covering such tranquil personalities as Roger Toussaint and Steve Cassidy for us to hop on the carousel otherwise known as the New York Post.

For the past two-plus years, Ginger has provided comprehensive, careful coverage of the Fire Department and New York City Transit, as well as the never-dull unions for workers at those entities. She has done stellar work on the impact the World Trade Center's destruction had on the health of those involved in the rescue and cleanup efforts while also covering the city and state election boards and Federal employee issues.

We'll miss her, but we wish her the best as she begins what should be an interesting transition.