Full 'Circle' for Rudy pal 

MAYOR RUDY and Hillary Rodham Clinton are milking their possible Senate clash for everything it's worth. I understand that Giuliani's dramatic turn at next week's Inner Circle dinner will include broad hints that he's going to D.C. to be "King of the Jungle." 

Rudy's chum, revue writer Elliot Cuker, refuses to talk about what he has scripted for Hizzoner at this year's political roast conducted by City Hall reporters. But don't be surprised if Rudy dresses as the Lion King and declares he's D.C.-bound  "because that's where the real power is."

Cuker. himself is heading back to serious acting, where, his' heart is. The aging owner of Coopers Classic Cars & Cigars abandoned the theater 15 years ago to set up an exotic-car company, but is now seeking an agent and wants to go back on the boards.

He appeared in minor plays before going into the car business, and recently has been easing, back into entertainment via very small parts in movies like "Night Falls in Manhattan," "Kicked in the Head" and "The Spanish Prisoner." If he succeeds in this mid-life career change, I guess Rudy is going to have to find himself a new writer.