Giuliani Gets McCain'd And Won't Declare

While former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is interested in running for President, what with visiting NH this past weekend, it's unclear how the GOP feels about him. The Post reports that the NY State GOP has Giuliani's big 2008 rival, Senator John McCain, to appear at a fund-raiser in Manhattan. One Giuliani supporter says, "It's a slight," but the NYS GOP claims that the party just needs a lot of money (it's broke) and all the starpower it can line up, which is pretty believable.

This comes as Newsday finds that Giuliani still hasn't filed to declare himself an actual candidate - which is what McCain and Mitt Romney have done. While his campaign says he's just not spending enough to declare candidacy, an insider said that Giuliani is in fact still "testing the waters." (Giuliani is also not sure what party he belongs to - he apparently left the space on the form for party affiliation blank.)

Testing the waters might not be so bad, given the doubt of a Giuliani success nationwide. Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean tells the Daily News, "Giuliani has taken positions that are admirable but are out of step with the mainstream of his party. He's going to have a hell of a battle." Giuliani's campaign naturally took offense, but Dean's only saying what even Repubilcans already know.

And Giuliani's team said he raised $1.4 million in six weeks; McCain has reportedly raised $1.7 million. In a recent Gallup poll amongst Republicans, Giuliani gets higher marks on things like "Is more likeable" and "would be better in a crisis" but McCain "Is more qualified to be president."

Photograph of Giuliani by Andrew Medichini/AP