Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that he's thinking about running for governor of New York next year.

(CNN) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that he's thinking about running for governor of New York next year, but that's as far as he's going right now.

Asked by CNN's John Roberts on American Morning if he's seriously considering a gubernatorial bid, Giuliani said "I'm thinking about it but I don't know if I'm at the point of seriously considering it. It's a little too early."

Giuliani, who spent much of 2007 and the first month of 2008 running for the Republican presidential nomination, is often mentioned as a possible contender to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. David Paterson in next year's contest.

Recent polls of New York State voters indicate that if the election where held today, Giuliani would beat the unpopular Paterson. But surveys also suggest if New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo were the Democratic nominee, Cuomo would beat Giuliani in a hypothetical general election match up.
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Giuliani hasn't decided on a run for governor.

(CNN) — Rudy Giuliani fueled speculation Wednesday he is considering a run for governor with a high-profile op-ed in the New York Times, but the former mayor told reporters he hasn't decided one way or another on a potential run just yet.

In a conference call Wednesday morning, Giuliani denied the op-ed — in which he proposes a series of measures to fix the state's gridlocked government — was meant to be a signal he is actively interested in running for governor in 2010.

"I know how to send signals, if I wanted to I would do it." Giuliani said. "I am not leaning [in either direction]."

In the op-ed, which Giuliani says is "not a partisan criticism," the former Republican presidential candidate calls for a statewide constitutional convention to institute a series of reforms, including changes in the budgeting process, term-limits for law makers, and campaign finance reform.

Two polls out this week show Giuliani would easily top current New York Gov. David Paterson in an election match-up, but would face a considerably more challenging bid against the state's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo.

Giuliani largely withheld criticizing Paterson directly Wednesday. "There is enough blame for all to share," he said.

Rudy Giuliani wasn't a fan of Obama's videotaped message to Iran.

(CNN) – Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said Monday that President Obama emboldened terrorists and looked like a pushover in his recent videotaped remarks to the people of Iran.

"Sending a videotaped message into Iran and the language and tone of that message, in my view, is the kind of thing terrorists look at and say 'we can take advantage, we can push,'" Giuliani said on MSNBC.

"I think it was a mistake. It needed balancing language about his recognition of the complete lack of freedom within Iran, even as a strong message to the Iranian people," he said of the White House video, which was posted online last month. "You get one chance to talk to the people of Iran. They're watching. You want to create a reformist element in Iran and you don't speak to that?"

"This is why terrorist would say, 'we can take advantage of a guy like that,'" he said.

Giuliani argued that because Obama failed to call out the Iranian government directly on matters such as human rights violations and the oppression of women, Iranian reformers probably became disheartened. "I think it turns off the reformers when they listen to a one-sided messages and they dont hear very strong language about what's going in their country," he said.

"He didn't talk about any of the things we need from them," Giuliani said of the president. "He is talking to a dictatorship. He is not talking to a liberal democracy. If you listen to that, you would think he was talking to a liberal democracy."

Just 26 percent of the state’s registered voters questioned in a Marist poll released Tuesday say they approve of Gov. David Paterson’s job performance.

(CNN) — More bad news for New York Gov. David Paterson: in a new poll, the governor's approval rating plummeted 20 points in a month.

Just 26 percent of the state’s registered voters questioned in a Marist poll released Tuesday say they approve of Paterson’s job performance — the lowest approval rating a New York state governor has received in the poll’s 30-year history, and a sharp decline from the governor’s January showing.

Fifty-three percent of those polled said they would vote for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani if the 2010 vote for governor were held today, while 38 percent said they would back Paterson.

Paterson is losing ground against the former Republican presidential candidate – the two were in a statistical standoff in January's poll, and in November's poll the governor maintained a 51 percent to 41 percent lead.

The sitting governor does fare better than former congressman Rick Lazio. Forty-seven percent would support Paterson in a run against Lazio, while 35 percent would back the congressman. Eighteen percent are undecided.

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Rudy Giuliani is backing New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie.

(CNN) – New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie picked up the support of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday, one more sign that the GOP establishment is coalescing around the former U.S. attorney as he hopes to unseat Democrat John Corzine.

Though Christie isn’t the only man running for the Republican nomination, he’s quickly cemented his status as the frontrunner since entering the race earlier this month, and has picked up the backing of hundreds of Republican state officials. Last week, he secured the endorsement of New Jersey’s former governor Tom Kean.

With Corzine looking vulnerable — he trailed Christie by six points in a recent Quinnipiac poll — prominent national Republicans like Giuliani are expected to lend their star power to the race.

Giuliani said his fellow former prosecutor is “a decisive leader who knows how to make the tough decisions.” He also praised Christie’s commitment to urban revitalization, a central plank of his gubernatorial bid.

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Could Giuliani be headed for Albany?

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rudy Giuliani is remaining coy on the prospect of a 2010 run against New York Gov. David Paterson.

"It's too early," the former New York City mayor said on CNN's American Morning Tuesday. "The governor has a big job. He doesn't need a two-year election campaign. I think he should be given every opportunity to do the very best he can for the state, and then we can see about it six months from now, eight months from now."

Two months ago, in an interview on CNN, Giuliani said he wasn't ruling out a bid in 2010 for governor of the Empire State.

A poll of New York State voters conducted by Sienna College in November suggested that Paterson would top Giuliani by 6 points in a hypothetical head-to-head match up in 2010.

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Rudy Giuliani will hit the campaign trail with Saxby Chambliss in Georgia on Tuesday.

(CNN) – Add Rudy Giuliani to the list of big name surrogates who are making campaign cameos in the last remaining Senate election this year.

The former New York Mayor and Republican presidential candidate teams up today with Saxby Chambliss at campaign events in Woodstock, Georgia.

Chambliss is the freshman Republican senator from Georgia who is fighting to keep his seat. He faces a runoff election next Tuesday against Jim Martin, a former Georgia state lawmaker.

Chambliss won a plurality of the vote on Election Day three weeks ago, but Georgia state law calls for the winner to grab 50 percent plus one vote. Due to the inclusion of a third-party candidate, Chambliss fell just shy of that threshold, forcing a runoff.

Giuliani is the latest former GOP presidential candidate to stump with Chambliss. Sen. John McCain campaigned with Chambliss just nine days after losing the presidential election to Barack Obama. Nine days ago, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran for the Republican nomination before dropping out in March and backing McCain, campaigned with Chambliss. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney teamed up with Chambliss on Friday. Romney ended his presidential bid in February and backed McCain.

Giuliani dropped out of the Republican presidential race in late January and immediately endorsed McCain. Giuliani, Huckabee and Romney could all make another stab at presidential politics in 2012.

Martin is also getting some major-league help. Last week former President Bill Clinton campaigned with Martin in Atlanta and Sunday former Vice President Al Gore teamed up with Martin.

Do these big name surrogates make a difference?

"Generally they can help boost turnout, because of all the media attention. Turnout in a runoff election is often very low compared to a presidential election and each side needs to get as many of their voters to the polls as possible," says CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

Democrats have so far picked up seven Senate seats in this year's election, with the Republican seats in Georgia and Minnesota still undecided. In Minnesota, freshman GOP Sen. Norm Coleman topped his Democratic challenger, Al Franken, by just 215 votes, triggering an automatic recount which will extend into December.

If Democrats take both remaining contests, they'll reach their pre-election goal of controlling 60 Senate seats, which would be a filibuster-proof majority. A filibuster is a move by the minority party in the Senate that basically brings the chamber to a standstill by blocking votes on legislation.

Giuliani left open the prospect of another White House run.

(CNN) — Rudy Giuliani told CNN Sunday the failure of his presidential bid this year didn’t mark the end of his political career — and that his future could include another White House run.

The former New York City mayor said that the economic environment this year may have presented too big an obstacle for any Republican presidential hopeful to overcome.

"If you had told me a year ago we would have a major economic crisis, I would've told you it would be very hard for any Republican," he said.

He wouldn’t rule out another run for the top spot. "No one knows whether you'll do something again until you come to the point of: 'Is it possible to do it again? Would you have a chance of winning?’ I mean, those are just things you can't evaluate right now," Giuliani said during a question-and-answer session with CNN International’s Hala Gourani.

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Giuliani is in a new robocall for McCain.

(CNN) – Rudy Giuliani is the star of a new robocall from the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee that seeks to portray Barack Obama as soft on crime.

In the new call, to be blasted to voters in several swing states, the former federal prosecutor and New York City mayor says Obama opposes "mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders, drug dealers, and murderers."

"You need to know that Barack Obama opposes mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders, drug dealers, and murderers," Giuliani says in the call. "It's true, I read Obama's words myself. And recently, congressional liberals introduced a bill to eliminate mandatory prison sentences for violent criminals — trying to give liberal judges the power to decide whether criminals are sent to jail or set free."

"With priorities like these, we just can't trust the inexperience and judgment of Barack Obama and his liberal allies," Giuliani says.

Listen: Giuliani narrates the McCain/RNC's latest robocall

The Obama campaign did not have an immediate comment, but according to its Web site, the Illinois senator does support "reforming mandatory minimum prison sentences."

"Every leading expert body in criminal justice has opposed the use of mandatory minimum sentences, including the Sentencing Commission, the Judicial Conference, the American Bar Association, and leading criminal justice scholars," his Web site ways.

Giuliani's robocall comes a week after the Republican National Committee and the McCain campaign blasted a robocall to swing-state voters highlighting the Democratic presidential candidate's connection to 1960's radical William Ayers.

Those calls have drawn criticism from a handful of vulnerable Senate Republicans wary of turning off independent voters, including Maine's Susan Collins, Minnesota's Norm Coleman and Oregon's Gordon Smith.

Giuliani is in a new robocall for McCain.

(CNN) – Rudy Giuliani is the star of a new robocall from the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee that seeks to portray Barack Obama as soft on crime.

In the new call, to be blasted to voters in several swing states, the former federal prosecutor and New York City mayor says Obama opposes "mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders, drug dealers, and murderers."

"You need to know that Barack Obama opposes mandatory prison sentences for sex offenders, drug dealers, and murderers," Giuliani says in the call. "It's true, I read Obama's words myself. And recently, congressional liberals introduced a bill to eliminate mandatory prison sentences for violent criminals — trying to give liberal judges the power to decide whether criminals are sent to jail or set free."

"With priorities like these, we just can't trust the inexperience and judgment of Barack Obama and his liberal allies," Giuliani says.

Listen: Giuliani narrates the McCain/RNC's latest robocall

The Obama campaign did not have an immediate comment, but according to its Web site, the Illinois senator does support "reforming mandatory minimum prison sentences."

"Every leading expert body in criminal justice has opposed the use of mandatory minimum sentences, including the Sentencing Commission, the Judicial Conference, the American Bar Association, and leading criminal justice scholars," his Web site ways.

Giuliani's robocall comes a week after the Republican National Committee and the McCain campaign blasted a robocall to swing-state voters highlighting the Democratic presidential candidate's connection to 1960's radical William Ayers.

Those calls have drawn criticism from a handful of vulnerable Senate Republicans wary of turning off independent voters, including Maine's Susan Collins, Minnesota's Norm Coleman and Oregon's Gordon Smith.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Gov. Sarah Palin represents a new generation.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined the chorus of former Republican presidential hopefuls who praised John McCain at the GOP convention Wednesday.

Giuliani's speech came after spirited talks by Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, who both squared off against McCain in the presidential race.

Just like Huckabee and Romney, Giuliani fired pointed attacks at the Democratic ticket while pushing traditional Republican themes of security, freedom and smaller government.

Giuliani, who ended his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination in January after a disappointing finish in Florida, also defended presumptive nominee McCain's selection of a running mate.

Full story

Watch: Giuliani says Obama 'got it wrong' on Iraq.

ST. PAUL (CNN) – This speech is about mockery – and I wonder whether that’s appealing to voters. I really think this tone is going to turn a lot of voters off – it’s ugly, it’s bitter, it’s nasty. There is a bullying tone to this speech, and to Romney’s speech, and I just don’t think it works.

Watch: Giuliani says this is 'no time for on the job training'

Even less appealing: “When they gave up on Iraq, they gave up on America”? Now that’s insulting.

What they’re doing is re-running the 2004 campaign, which the Republicans won on the issue of terrorism. He’s saying the war on terror should be the supreme issue – but for most voters it’s the economy

ST PAUL (CNN) — The left wing and Hollywood celebrities are the true stars of the evening, prompting another chant of “USA!” from the crowd.

How did “USA” become a term of defiance and division? It sounds ugly, like they’re saying: “We’re real Americans – and you’re not.”

Giuliani, like Romney, relishes the attack. His language is stinging. The crowd keeps chanting “zero” – as in the talking point that Obama has no executive experience, and has never run anything. Except his own campaign. Obama beat the Clintons, and the inevitable candidacy – that’s not nothing.

Giuliani was joined by his wife, Judith, as he surveyed the podium at the Republican convention Tuesday.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to come out swinging Wednesday, in a “compelling speech” intended to contrast the stark differences between presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama, a McCain campaign official told CNN.

“It’s red meat in the sense that it’s a very strong argument on why McCain is the better choice,” said the official, who previewed Giuliani’s address before the Republican National Convention.

Former governors and GOP presidential rivals Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are also expected to address how McCain differs from Obama. With a critical look at Democrats, the speeches will address "why Washington’s broken" and how Republicans "must fix it."

“The speeches will be a little edgier tonight,” the official told CNN. Tonight, McCain will officially be nominated for the GOP nomination.

With speeches from Meg Whitman, former president and CEO of eBay, and Carly Fiorina, former chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, early in Wednesday night’s program, McCain officials say there will be a “big concentration on economic issues.”

While Whitman and Fiorina will not cover any new policy ground, the themes will “echo” McCain’s May speech entitled “2013,” where the Arizona senator maps out his first term achievements by 2013. Among the successes McCain envisions, “several years of robust economic growth” and winning the war in Iraq.

Watch Rudy Giuliani discuss Gov. Palin's record on American Morning.

(CNN) – They have both been mayors, but Rudy Giuliani pointed to Sarah Palin’s experience in the last 21 months as governor of Alaska to respond to concerns about whether she has enough experience to be vice president.

“She’s one of the most successful governors in the country,” the former presidential candidate told John Roberts on American Morning Wednesday. “She has a record of significant change already. She’s lowered the budget. She’s lowered taxes. She’s taken on the oil companies. She’s taken on corrupt Republicans, got them thrown out of office.”

Giuliani also told Roberts he was not troubled by Palin’s conservative social views.

“I understand that I’m part of a party that doesn’t agree with me on everything,” Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, said. “But I agree on the main principles. I consider the main principles to be economic policy, national security, lowering taxes, trying to keep the economy progressive, a growth economy.” There are “vast differences” between the Democratic and Republican presidential tickets “with regard to all of those things,” Giuliani also said.

He also discussed Palin’s track record on earmarks and her religiously-tinged views on the American military’s mission in Iraq.

Giuliani and Palin are both set to address the Republican convention Wednesday night.

Watch: Giuliani on American Morning

Giuliani endorsed McCain after ending his own presidential campaign.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will have a speaking role at the Republican National Convention, a GOP official tells CNN.

Giuliani was scheduled to deliver the keynote address Tuesday, but Hurricane Gustav forced Republicans to alter the program. Giuliani will speak later in the week.

Watch Rudy Giuliani's interview with CNN.

(CNN)– Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined the choir of ardent Hillary Clinton supporters Tuesday night– asking why Barack Obama passed up the New York senator for his number two spot.

"I just think that they made a big mistake in the choice that they made," Giuliani told a CNN panel at the Democratic National Convention. "It's a no-brainer. [Hillary Clinton] got 18 million votes, Joe [Biden] got 9,000 votes…The normal political thing to do in terms of the best decision to make to win would have been to pick Hillary Clinton," Giuliani said urging the presumptive Democratic nominee to give an explanation to unhappy Democrats.

Giuliani has been an outspoken supporter of the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain since abandoning his own presidential bid — emphasizing the Arizona senator's talking points on various political broadcasts.

Last week, during his first conference call as a surrogate for McCain, the former New York mayor had a difficult time when the subject veered away from the intended foreign policy talk. Giuliani accused Daniel Kurtzer, an Obama adviser and former U.S. ambassador to Israel of engaging in a freelance “mission” to Syria — accusations at which the Obama campaign quickly fired back.

Asked Tuesday night if he would draw contrast between the two parties during his keynote address next week at the Republican National Convention, Giuliani said you can expect him to do exactly that.

"I'm sure there will be comparisons," Giuliani said. The choice is between "John McCain who has tremendous experience who has worked on both sides of the aisle, against a senator from Illinois [who is] one of the least-experienced candidates we ever had for president."

Giuliani is expected to be part of a news conference Wednesday, during the Democratic National Convention to discuss "why Barack Obama is wrong on national security," according to a media advisory.

Giuliani accused an Obama advisor of being on a freelance 'mission' Wednesday.

(CNN) — On his first campaign conference call as a surrogate for John McCain, Rudy Giuliani accused an unpaid advisor for Barack Obama’s presidential effort of engaging in a freelance diplomatic “mission” when he met with a Syrian official last month in Damascus.

Giuliani said Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who also served as the first Jewish U.S. ambassador to Egypt, had met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Kurtzer did not meet with the Syrian president during his trip, which was not connected to Obama’s presidential effort.

He did meet with Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem while in Damascus for a legal conference co-sponsored by the American Bar Association and paid for by donations from a Canadian oil company and Syrian corporations.

Discussions should only take place "when you have confidence that you're not being used," said Giuliani, charging that Kurtzer’s actions might be a result of an Obama policy of “negotiating with dictators without precondition."

Listen: Giuliani takes aim at Obama's advisor

Kurtzer, who advises Obama’s campaign on Middle East affairs, has been an advocate of diplomatic engagement with the government of Syria.

McCain foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann, asked about his lobbying work on behalf of the nation of Georgia, responded that his actions were different because they were not “covert.” The reporter who asked the question, Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, abruptly dropped off the call. He later alleged that the campaign had cut him off.

(UPDATE with Obama campaign response after the jump)

UPDATE: Obama foreign policy advisor Susan Rice responded to Giuliani’s charges on a Wednesday afternoon conference call with reporters, saying “there is nothing but falsehood and distortion” in the comments.

“[Kurtzer] did not represent the Obama campaign or Senator Obama, he went as a private citizen. And so John McCain who himself sat down one-on-one and had a meeting with the leader of the same country in its most active moment of support for terrorism – to criticize a private citizen for taking a private trip is absolutely outrageous and dishonest,” said Rice. “If John McCain wants to be held accountable for the travel and the conduct of every private citizen who may have at one point or another offered him advice then let’s have that discussion.”

Watch Giuliani on American Morning Thursday.

(CNN) – Rudy Giuliani, former presidential candidate turned John McCain supporter, said Thursday that a Democrat could conceivably occupy the number 2 spot on the Republican presidential ticket.

“The reality is either way you might see something like that,” the former New York City mayor told CNN’s Kiran Chetry on American Morning when asked about talk of Sen. Barack Obama choosing a Republican like Sen. Chuck Hagel as his running mate.

Giuliani said he has not spoken with McCain about possibly choosing a Democratic running mate. “But, if you’re asking me is it possible in this day and age that you could have a ticket like that? I think so.”

While he conceded that he could think of “a couple” Democrats who might fit the bill as potential McCain VP’s, Giuliani said the decision was ultimately McCain’s.

Watch: Giuliani on American Morning

Rudy Giuliani visited Yankee Stadium with John McCain on Sunday.

NEW YORK (CNN) – Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Sunday Barack Obama’s overseas visit is only serving to highlight the candidate’s inexperience in world affairs.

The one-time Republican presidential candidate made the comments as he visited Yankee Stadium with presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

On the field before the Yankees took on the Oakland A’s, Giuliani told reporters, “the fact that Barack Obama is now making his first tour, in essence, of the world is an indication that John McCain is the man with the experience. John doesn't have to go for the first or second time to these places. He has been going there for 20-30 years. He knows the world. He understands the world.”

Obama has previously visited Iraq and other countries overseas, but this was his first visit to Afghanistan.

Giuliani said, “Without any disrespect to the other side, he's just so far more experienced that I think America will elect him. I think the American people are going to take a look and say we have got to be very serious about this…we need a man that has experience and John McCain has that experience."

Criticizing Obama’s strategy on Iraq, the former mayor said, “I think if you look at Senator McCain's record on Iraq – you don't fail to elect him president. He was right about Iraq when almost everybody else was wrong. It has turned out that if we had caved in the way Barack Obama and the democrats wanted we would now have a defeat. America would have a defeat rather than a possible victory.”