Entries in Rudy Giuliani
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Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Boston Mayor Thomas Menino Tuesday evening received condolences for the Boston Marathon bombing from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who compared it to the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack.

“One of the images that I take away from yesterday, having watched it all day, were your firefighters, your police officers and some of your citizens running right into the fire, and that reminded me of my firefighters and my police officers who ran into the building,” Giuliani told Menino, speaking mayor-to-mayor in a joint interview with World News’ Diane Sawyer.

Mayor Menino agreed, adding firefighters and EMS to the list of American heroes in Boston Monday.

“They reacted instantly and helped save lives,” Menino said. “When it blew up, they moved quickly, and I’m very proud of what the first responders did yesterday afternoon.”

“People of Boston should be, too,” Giuliani said. “They should be very proud of their citizens, all of whom reacted in a very, very brave way, and I was very heartened by that.”

The brief meeting between the two mayors of major American cities was a surprise for Menino, who did not know Giuliani was listening in on his interview with Sawyer.

Before being joined by Menino, Giuliani recalled being in London for the 2005 bombing that killed 52 civilians in the train system.

“They caught those people in less than a day,” Giuliani said. “They caught them on tape."

“Now hopefully, they have tapes like that [in Boston],” Giuliani said. “They’ve got a lot of surveillance cameras in Boston – more than New York, less than London.”

He suggested it was possible, too, that a spectator might have incidentally caught the moment on camera.

His advice to the people of Boston was to “go about their lives.”

“They should not let whatever form of terrorist this is, they shouldn’t let them win, because this is what they’re trying to do. They can’t capture us. They can’t overwhelm us. They can’t destroy us. All they can do is frighten us and try to stop us from doing the things that make us a great country. We shouldn’t let them do that,” the former New York City mayor said. “My heart goes out to them.”

Menino told Sawyer that authorities continue to investigate the attack that left three dead and more than 170 wounded, going over the area with a “fine-toothed comb,” and that a pressure cooker might have been involved.

“We don’t have any other information that we can give to the public at this time, but I know the FBI, the Boston police [and] the state police are all working very closely on this investigation,” Menino said.

He echoed Giuliani by saying he was optimistic that footage from surveillance and private citizens’ cameras would allow officials to find the attacker.

“We have a lot of video on this, and we’re looking at all that video and asking the public who might have cameras to give them to the Boston police so they can look at the information,” the five-time Boston mayor said. “That’s the most camera-ed area in the city of Boston.”

Putting aside the deep-rooted baseball rivalry between the two cities, New York’s Yankee Stadium played the song “Sweet Caroline” during the Yankee game Tuesday night as a tribute to Boston, where the song is a Fenway Park tradition for the Red Sox.

“That’s a historic moment when that song goes off at the ballgame,” Menino said.

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Mitt Romney announced Monday that he’s won “the support” of Rudy Giuliani, a turnaround for the former New York City mayor.

Here’s how the Romney campaign quoted Giuliani in his endorsement statement: “When I look at where we are as a nation and the challenges we face, I am convinced that Mitt Romney will provide a clear contrast to President Obama. … I’m proud to support Mitt Romney and encourage all those who worry about our country’s future to do the same.”

“There’s something wrong when you’ve been running as long as Mitt has and you’re at 25 percent, and you go don’t much above and you don’t go much below. Seventy-five percent of the other Republicans are telling you something about him,” Giuliani said.

“I ran against him in ’07, ’08. I have never seen a guy – and I’ve run in a lot of elections, supported a lot of people, opposed them – never seen a guy change his positions on so many things, so fast, on a dime. Everything.”

“He was pro-mandate for the whole country. Then he becomes anti-mandate and takes that page out of his book and republishes the book. I can go on and on. I mean, this is a total switch.”

“Now what will Barack Obama do to that? What Barack Obama will do to that is: ‘This is a man without a core. This is a man without substance. This is a man who will say anything to become president of the United States. I think that is a great vulnerability.”

Giuliani joins a list of Republicans who weren’t so crazy about Romney four years ago, but now say he is their guy. Most notably, Sen. John McCain — who has stumped for Romney this year — put out an ad in the 2008 primary that said “Mitt Romney’s Flip Flops Truly Are Masterpieces.”

Richard Ellis/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Add Rudy Giuliani to the list of Republicans who think Newt Gingrich and his super PAC have gone too far with their attacks on Mitt Romney’s business record.

The former New York City mayor went on Fox News on Thursday to call Gingrich’s line of attack “ignorant, dumb,” and something he’d expect from Saul Alinsky, the late Chicago activist who preached confrontation to ignite political change.

“What the hell are you doing, Newt?” Giuliani said on Fox and Friends. “The stuff you’re saying is one of the reasons we’re in this trouble now. This whole ignorant populist view of the economy that was proven to be incorrect with the Soviet Union with Chinese communism.”

Gingrich has lambasted Romney over the past few weeks for killing jobs during his tenure as the head of Bain Capital. A pro-Gingrich super PAC is out with a 28-minute documentary this week that accuses Romney of being a “corporate raider” who made big profits for investors while laying off workers.

“I’m shocked at what they are doing,” Giuliani said of Perry and Gingrich. “It’s ignorant, dumb, it is building something we should be fighting in America: ignorance of the economic system, playing on the dumbest most ridiculous ideas about how you grow jobs.”

Giuliani added: “What they are doing to Mitt right now is totally, absolutely unfair and bad for the Republican Party.”

The anti-Romney documentary will be broken up into shorter segments for a $3.4 million ad-buy that will air both on South Carolina television and nationally on radio.

“Was Mitt Romney a job creator, or a corporate raider? That’s the question conservatives are asking,” the radio ad’s announcer intones darkly. “Like a vulture, he hunted for vulnerable companies. He took them over, loaded them with debt and collected whopping fees. He cut costs and cut jobs, and picked at the remains.”

Rick Perry delved into a Gingrich-style line of attack against Romney’s business career Tuesday, saying Romney was involved in “vulture capitalism.” By Wednesday morning Perry had removed that line from his stump speech.

Gingrich, on the other hand, said Thursday he will not back off his “crony capitalism” characterization of Romney.

The former New York City mayor, who had unsuccessfully run for the Republican nomination in 2008, was rumored to be thinking about entering the race again. But Giuliani made it clear at a Long Island Association event Tuesday that he'll be watching the 2012 contest from the sideline.

Taking a cue from the New Jersey governor who said last week that he wasn't a candidate, Giuliani quipped, "If it's too late for Chris Christie, it's too late for me."

Unlike Christie, who endorsed Mitt Romney for president, Giuliani is keeping his options open, although he admitted he might be partial to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who endorsed the New York Republican during his ill-fated attempt at winning the GOP nod three years ago.

Alex Wong/Getty Image(NEW YORK) -- In the Republican weekly address, typically reserved for members of Congress or current elected officials, Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani sends a message of remembrance to Americans before the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.

“As we remember the thousands of lives lost on that day, there’s no doubt that the terrorists achieved their first goal and will leave us with a deep wound forever,” Giuliani says, “When it comes to destroying our spirit, however … as we consider the rescue and recovery effort we witnessed at the time of and in the aftermath of the attacks, it’s clear that the terrorists failed. The country was not broken, but rather, it was more united in the days after September 11 than at any time in my lifetime.”

As the nation approaches the 10-year anniversary Giuliani says that the nation is safe, but not as safe as it should be.

“Much work remains,” he declares, noting that port security and state and local governments range from very well prepared to not prepared at all.

Giuliani also sends a political message -- noting that the “most dangerous impulse” that has developed in a post-9/11 world is America’s “impatience” to put armed forces on timetables.

“American security requires a long-term military presence in the part of the world where people and organizations are plotting to kill us. The timetable should not be based on a politically expedient calendar, but on when we've eliminated the threat of domestic attacks being generated in that particular part of the world. We must not allow impatience to prevent our military from achieving its objective in Iraq and Afghanistan and the objective is the elimination of the threat to our nation.”

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that he might run for president after all, but only if the Republican Party is “truly desperate,” which, he said, “maybe we are.”

“I would like to see somebody that emerges that I think would be a strong candidate for the Republican Party for president. If somebody does emerge that I believe can win, then I would probably support that person,” Giuliani said Tuesday at the National Press Club. “If I think that we are truly desperate, then I may run.”

“Which is the way I got elected mayor of New York City,” Giuliani said Tuesday. "You know what my slogan was? ‘We can’t do any worse.'"

Giuliani, who made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, admitted he would have a hard time clinching the Republican nomination in 2012 because of how socially conservative the early primary states are and how vital they are to winning the nomination.

He said his previous campaign made the mistake of focusing too much energy on winning nationally and not nearly enough on those early states.

“And those primaries are tilted very much, at least two out of the three, are tilted very much in favor of conservative Republicans who are very strongly conservative on social issues,” he said. “I am simply not that conservative on social issues and I’m not willing to change just to become president.”

The latest name to be bandied about is somewhat of a surprise: former New York Gov. George Pataki, who ran the state from 1995 through 2006.

A spokesman for Pataki maintains the former governor is "deeply disappointed by the failure of leadership by President Obama on the debt issue and in the lack of serious solutions being offered by the current Republican field."

It's believed that Pataki is seriously considering running for the Republican nod although there are numerous factors working against him.

For one, he has little name recognition outside of New York and would be immediately eclipsed if the more popular former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani throws his hat in the ring.

Even more problematic is that Pataki is too far to the left for conservatives’ tastes since he supports abortion and gay rights. Pataki's third term as governor would also be brought up since he greatly increased spending compared to his first eight years in office.

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Republicans will just have to take the word of one advisor to Rudy Giuliani that the former New York City mayor will announce his decision to seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination "very soon."

That decision will likely come after Giuliani's trip this Thursday to New Hampshire, home to the first-in-the nation primary. He's polling well up there, trailing only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

Giuliani spent $50 million in his 2008 bid to win the GOP nod and walked away with one delegate for his efforts.

While his strong suit is considered to be national security, many within the party feel that Giuliani is still too socially liberal for the conservative base, although he has moved steadily to the right in recent years.

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Former New York City Mayor -- and potential 2012 presidential candidate -- Rudy Giuliani allegedly is backing off a promise to preside over a gay friend's wedding, now that New York State has legalized same-sex marriage.

The friend, New York car dealer Howard Koeppel, made headlines in 2001 when he and his partner opened their home to Giuliani for six months while the mayor was going through a bitter divorce. During the time Giuliani was a house guest, Koeppel says he made a request. "I asked if he would marry us," the New York Post quotes Koeppel as saying.

"He said, 'Howard, I don't do anything that's not legal. If it becomes legal in New York, you'll be one of the first ones I would marry,'" Koeppel recalled.

Last week, New York became the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage, but Koeppel says Giuliani hasn't been returning the many calls he began making as state lawmakers began considering the measure, according to The Post.

"It seems like a lot of people he was close to became persona non grata," Koeppel was quoted as saying.

Koeppel and his partner of nearly 20 years, Mark Hsiao, were married by a justice of the peace in Connecticut in May 2009 after same-sex marriage became legal in that state. This year, the couple became the parents of twin daughters with the help of a surrogate mom.

Giuliani reportedly skipped the 2009 service, after sending in an RSVP that he would attend. Koeppel says he now wants to repeat his vows in New York -- with Giuliani officiating. As a former mayor, Giuliani has the right to officiate at weddings.

A spokeswoman for Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment.

Giuliani, a Republican, was considered a fiscal conservative but moderate-to-liberal on social issues during his eight years as mayor. He has consistently opposed gay marriage but has supported civil unions and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.

Giuliani is leaving the door open to running for president again in 2012 -- he's scheduled to visit New Hampshire July 14-15.

Giuliani's officiating at a same-sex marriage would likely hurt him with conservative voters, potentially ruining whatever chance he might have of winning the Republican nomination.

The former New York is reportedly ready to make another attempt at becoming the Republican standard bearer. The last time he tried during the 2008 election, he collected a total of one delegate.

The rumors of a possible Giuliani candidacy, first fueled by New York Congressman Peter King last month, surfaced again this week in William Kristol's column for the Weekly Standard.

Kristol wrote, "I'm told by two reliable sources that Rudy Giuliani intends to run for the GOP nomination for president in 2012."

For now, Giuliani, who gained national attention for helping New York rebound after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, remains cagey about his intentions. One aide said he's considering another bid for the White House, but that's as far as it goes right now.

While Giuliani's greatest strength among Republicans is his national security credentials, he's considered by some as being too moderate for the GOP base.﻿