NY Times: "Giuliani Is Sounding More Like a Candidate"

January 28, 2007
Giuliani Is Sounding More Like a Candidate
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA

MANCHESTER, N. H., Jan. 27 — Rudolph W. Giuliani sounded nearer than ever to being a presidential candidate on Saturday, repeatedly talking about the prospect of running, and inviting voters to judge him by his record as mayor of New York City.

Though he has long been thought to be a presidential contender, he has fallen behind other candidates in declaring his intention, and the language he used on Saturday, while suggesting a run, also contained built-in escape hatches. Speaking to a convention of the New Hampshire Republican Party, he advised the delegates on “what you should look for in whatever decision you make in presidential primaries,” and added, “when I promise you things, if I do, when I do, as I do, I’ll promise them because I’ve done them before.”

He returned to that theme moments later, and as he has done in recent days, drew a direct analogy between fighting crime in his home city and establishing peace in Iraq.

“When I say to you that we should reduce taxes to stimulate the economy, I’ll say it to you because I did it and I saw it work,” he said. “When I say we have to bring peace and security as sort of the beginning of anything, whether it’s in Baghdad or in other parts of the world or here at home, I’ll say that to you because I saw that happen in New York, and I made it happen. I did it.”

In his first trip since last fall to the state that holds the earliest presidential primary, Mr. Giuliani stepped closer than he has before to suggesting that he will run.

“Government has got to work in order to allow people to have confidence in it,” he said. “And as I look at this, I believe there is something I can do about that.”
Whether or not he is serious about a campaign, he may need to send such a signal to keep his options open. He has raised money, traveled extensively and put together a more robust organization in recent weeks, but as other candidates enter the race, many Republicans — and some publications — have questioned whether he will go through with it.

On this trip, he met privately with several elected officials, including the mayor of Manchester, Frank Guinta — the kind of personal courting people here expect, and that other top contenders have done more than Mr. Giuliani has.

“He’s going to have to spend a lot more with these people,” said Senator John E. Sununu.

When he speaks, Mr. Giuliani normally walks around the stage and does not refer to notes, joking and making matter-of-fact arguments. But Saturday’s speech, at the old Palace Theater, was unusually formal for him — he stayed behind the lectern and worked from notes — and also more overtly boastful and partisan, and more designed to rouse his audience.

Mr. Giuliani has taken the politically risky position of supporting President Bush’s unpopular decision to send more troops to Iraq, as have the other Republicans who rank highest in early polls, Senator John S. McCain and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. But for the second time in as many days, Mr. Giuliani cautioned Saturday that the strategy might not work, and that it should not be viewed as the last word in the war.

“We hope and we root for and we pray for a successful outcome in Iraq,” he said. “But our ultimate victory is not going to be a military victory. Our ultimate victory against terrorism is going to be a victory of ideas.”

But he stayed away from the divisive social issues that put him at odds with much of his party, like his support of abortion rights and gay civil unions. Some delegates here said they had hoped Mr. Giuliani would explain support his past support for gun controls in New York that would be unpopular here.

Still, Republican officials here take him very seriously as a presidential contender, based primarily on his reputation for leadership in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

“I would say his chances are excellent,” said State Representative John Reagan. “Everyone knows he has been severely tested.”