Since the MTA pulled a pretty impressive rebound after Hurricane Sandy, there has been some rumbling from the right—specifically from the New York Post—trying to enlist MTA CEO Joe Lhota as a mayoral candidate for next year. Because if you can't get Ray Kelly to run, right? And yesterday the nascent Lhota 2013 campaign got a big push when the Mayor of 9/11 Town himself, Rudy Giuliani, came out in support of a Lhota candidacy.

Of course, hearing Rudy say through a spokesman that "If Joe were to get into this race, the mayor would be an enthusiastic supporter," comes as no surprise. Lhota was Giuliani's budget director, finance commissioner and deputy mayor for operations over the years, and was a major player in the city's response to 9/11. Still, "The mayor would do anything he could to help Joe get elected if Joe decided to be a candidate," Giuliani's rep said. And better Lhota than Rudy himself.

The push for a Lhota candidacy comes as the 2013 field of candidates starts to become clearer with Scott Stringer dropping out of the Democratic race and former Bronx Beep Adolfo Carrion Jr. making overtures towards the GOP ticket. Lhota himself has been mum about any plans to run, but he did offer some very interesting advice on leadership this morning:

Of course, Lhota—or any other Republican candidate for mayor—would lose 60-9 according to the Quinnipiac poll. Still, the 2013 election is a long way away!