Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

The Daily News reporter who broke the story of Mayor Giuliani's campaign plans, Ben Smith, is leaving that newspaper to join The Politico, a new newspaper and Web site based in Washington that will cover politics. Mr. Smith, who was part of the staff that started the New York Sun, is the latest in a series of high-profile hires made by the new publication, including Mike Allen, formerly of Time magazine, and John Harris and Jim VandeHei, formerly of the Washington Post.