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.”

John McCain, standing by Oakland Athletics' manager Bob Geren, takes a break from the trail for baseball.

NEW YORK (CNN) – Standing at home plate in the House that Ruth Built, John McCain put running for president in perspective: “It is like being in Double A and then all of a sudden you’re in Yankee Stadium.”

McCain attended Sunday’s Yankees-A’s game with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Before the game, the two went down on the field signing autographs posing for pictures and chatting with New York manager Joe Girardi and Oakland skipper Bob Geren.

The GOP presidential candidate wore his blue Navy hat, while Giuliani sported the traditional Yankee NY cap. They talked sports with the managers, with McCain telling them, “I really am a big sports nut because I was a mediocre high school athlete.”

Before settling in to watch the game, they toured the legendary Monument Park in left center field, with tributes to the greatest Yankee players.

McCain, an Arizona Diamondbacks fan, talked of watching his team in the 2001 World Series against Yankees with Giuliani, just a month after the 9-11 attacks. He often tells the story on the trail of being moved by the cheers Giuliani received from fans.

He told the YES Network as he sat in the Yankees dugout “it was an emotional time," saying, “I’ll never forget it as long as I live. Such an incredible time in our history.”

Giuliani told reporters before the game, “we have great memories, and very, very difficult memories of that period of time… Then I went out to Arizona with him for two games, and it was a very emotional World Series, that particular one. He's a good friend. We've also been to the Fiesta Bowl together, and I've gone to sporting events with John throughout the years. So, it's a little different now that he's a presidential candidate, but it's the same John McCain."

Asked whether runs for vice president or New York Governor might be in his future, Giuliani said, "I'm not thinking about any of those things. I'm thinking just about - I know you are! You have a right to think about it. And I have a right not to think about it because we've got an election right now to think about and get it done right."

McCain flew to Portland, Maine after the game where he has campaign events Monday.

Giuliani endorsed McCain after ending his own presidential campaign.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former presidential candidate turned McCain supporter, will be a guest today in “The Situation Room” and you can be a part of the interview. Does Mayor Giuliani agree with Sen. Lieberman that the next president will be tested early by a terrorist attack? Why does he think Sen. McCain will be a better president than Sen. Obama?

Send us your questions for Mayor Giuliani on video, and be sure to keep them clear and concise. Your videos could be used on air — and your views a part of the best political team on TV.

Click here to submit your question for Giuliani.

McCain's campaign has accused Obama of maintaining a 'September 10th mindset.'

(CNN) – John McCain and the Republican National Committee have issued sharp words for Barack Obama this week after Obama suggested in an interview that the United States can combat terrorism "within the constraints of the Constitution."

One McCain adviser said such comments demonstrate Obama’s foreign policy "weakness" and his "September 10th mindset."

But in consecutive days, the McCain campaign has attacked Obama's so-called "law enforcement approach" by offering up a pair of high-profile Republican surrogates who themselves have appeared to favor legal avenues for prosecuting terrorists.

The McCain campaign pressed their case against Obama on Thursday by convening a conference call with former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Thompson accused Obama of being "inconsistent on matters of national security and foreign policy" and criticized Obama's support for last week's milestone Supreme Court ruling, which determined that terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay should be granted habeas corpus rights.

But during Thompson’s presidential run, he also appeared to support legal pathways if Osama bin Laden were captured.

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Watch Giuliani's interview from American Morning.

(CNN) - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani accused Barack Obama of "a softer and more defensive approach to terrorism," while Obama's foreign policy advisor Susan Rice called John McCain's stance on the issue "stupid and fundamentally failed," in separate interviews Wednesday on CNN's "American Morning."

This morning's back-and-forth between the two presidential campaigns was a continuation of a disagreement over how to prosecute detainees held at Guantanamo Bay that began earlier this week.

WATCH McCain and Obama spar over terrorism

The firestorm started when Obama on Monday praised last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling to put Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial, pointing to how the 1993 World Trade Center bombers were prosecuted.

"The real problem is his having said that in essence the 1993 situation was really correctly handled by it being a criminal prosecution," Giuliani said on a conference call with reporters shortly after the CNN interview. "The reality is it wasn't over with in 1993, it led to several other serious attacks on Americans and then of course the catastrophic attack of September 11."

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York Cardinal Edward Egan says Rudy Giuliani should not have received Holy Communion during the pope's visit because he supports abortion rights.

Egan says he had "an understanding" with the former presidential candidate and New York mayor that he is not to receive the Eucharist. The Catholic church opposes abortion.

The cardinal said Monday that Giuliani broke that understanding when he received the Eucharist during Pope Benedict XVI's visit.

Egan says he will be seeking a meeting with Giuliani "to insist that he abide by our understanding."

Giuliani's spokesman says she is preparing a response.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — It was a full house on Capitol Hill Thursday with the return of Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain to Washington, D.C.  Dana Bash reports on what the three presidential hopefuls were doing back on the Senate floor.

Can Sen. Clinton repair her image with the African-American community after controversial comments by Geraldine Ferraro and former president Bill Clinton have offended some African-Americans?  Suzanne Malveaux reports on what Clinton is doing to try to make amends.

While McCain was back on Capitol Hill, his former rival Rudy Giuliani was out on the trail stumping on McCain's behalf.  Mary Snow was with Giuliani and reports on the former New York City Mayor's efforts to help McCain.

Finally, the Florida Democratic Party has come up with a plan to re-do its presidential primary and ultimately have its delegation seated at the Democratic Party's nominating convention.  John Zarella reports on the Florida Democrats' plan and how some Democrats are reacting to it.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

More than 50 percent of New York Republicans said Giuliani's endorsement of McCain was important.

(CNN) — John McCain appears to owe Rudy Giuliani a big thank you.

Our exit polls show the former New York City mayor's endorsement of McCain played a key factor in his win there. Over half of New York Republicans said Giuliani's endorsement was important, and those voters went to McCain over Romney 63 percent to 22 percent. (Romney beat McCain by 47 percent to 29 percent among those voters who said Giuliani's endorsement was not important.)

The exit polls also indicate McCain inherited Giuliani's key voting bloc — those who are chiefly concerned with terrorism. Roughly half those voters went to McCain while only a third went to Romney.

And there's another interesting finding out of New York: McCain beat Romney among conservatives there — bucking the trend seen nationally and in other states. Forty-six percent of conservatives chose McCain while 37 percent went for Romney.

–CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider