All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Updated 5:18 p.m. ET

After months of consideration, former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has decided against running for governor of New York, according to a report in the New York Times.

And according to the New York Daily News, the reason is that he's running instead for Senate.

Both newspapers are citing anonymous sources, and Giuliani's team is saying it is premature to say he has made a final decision.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella flatly told CBS News that the Daily News report is "not true."

In a separate written statement, she said this: "When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own."

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said red flags in the Fort Hood shooting suspect's past were ignored out of officials' fear of being labeled as bias against Muslims.

Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others in an attack at an on-base medical facility earlier this month. In the wake of the shooting, a host of potential warning signs that were never acted upon were uncovered.

Among them:

A joint terrorism task force was aware of e-mail exchanges between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical imam who espoused hostility against U.S. soldiers overseas. Investigators didn't follow up because they said the communications contained no references to terrorism.

Supervisors at Walter Reed Medical Center expressed concerns that Hasan could be belligerent about religious issues. And according to a 2007 evaluation letter published by NPR Wednesday, Hasan exhibited a "pattern of poor judgment and lack of professionalism."

Hasan also delivered a lecture at Walter Reed on the dangers of forcing Muslim soldiers to fight against other Muslims. He advised the military to grant conscientious objector status in such cases.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the Obama administration's decision to try professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal court is a political move to satisfy "left-wing critics" of military tribunals.

Attorney General Eric Holder has drawn heavy fire from Republicans and some Democrats since announcing last week that Mohammed and four alleged henchmen would be prosecuted in a civilian trial instead of a military tribunal. A CBS News poll released earlier this week shows Americans wary of the idea as well, with 54 percent opposed compared to 40 percent in favor.

Giuliani, who was mayor at the time of the World Trade Center attacks, said the move was part of a political agenda "because it makes no sense," during an appearance on CBS' "The Early Show" Thursday.

"The reality is that they could be tried in a military tribunal. There is no reason to try them in a civilian court. Others are going to be tried in the military tribunal. And the reality is we've never done this before. And this is something that was pushed very, very hard by the left wing for President Obama to do and he's been criticized for delaying in doing it."

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The release of Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" has elicited different reactions from two prominent Democrats, as well as some Republicans.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday gave a gracious response to the compliment Palin paid to Clinton in her book.

"Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I know that we will fundamentally disagree on may issues, but my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail," the 2008 vice presidential candidate wrote. "Compared to the guys she squared off against, a lot of her supporters think she proved what Margaret Thatcher proclaimed: 'If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.'"

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Clinton said she "absolutely would look forward to having coffee" with Palin.

"I've never met her, and I think it would be very interesting to sit down and talk with her," Clinton said. "Maybe I can make a case on some of the issues that we disagree on."

Meanwhile, Barack Obama's former campaign manager David Plouffe had harsher things to say about the former Alaska governor. Echoing comments from John McCain's presidential campaign strategist Steve Schmidt, Plouffe told the New Yorker magazine that Palin would be a "catastrophic" pick for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may be considering a run for governor in 2010, according to various reports, and could come to a decision on the matter within weeks.

The former 2008 Republican presidential candidate could decide to run in as soon as the next 30 to 60 days, the New York Times reports, if he concludes that public discontent with state government and economic unrest have created the right conditions.

In what the New York Post called "the strongest signal yet that he's thinking of running for governor," Giuliani's aides on Monday were working the phones to gauge whether Niagara County Republican chairman Henry Wojtaszek (a longtime Giuliani supporter) has enough support to run for the position of state Republican party chairman.

Current state party chairman Joseph Mondello resigned on Monday, after Giuliani visited him on Friday and encouraged him to do so, according to the New York Times.

Giuliani has reportedly met with several fellow Republicans to discuss his potential candidacy, and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) told the New York Daily News that he believes the chances are "better than 50-50" that Giuliani will run.

According to recent polls, Giuliani would have a good chance of beating Democratic Gov. David Paterson but would have a harder time against potential Democratic candidate Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has not announced if he plans to run against Paterson in a primary. The Siena Research Institute found 55 percent of registered voters polled this month had an unfavorable opinion of Paterson, Newsday reported. Giuliani would beat Paterson in a general election match-up by 56 percent to 33 percent, according to the poll, while Cuomo would beat Giuliani, 53 percent to 40 percent.

So far the only declared Republican candidate for governor is former Rep. Rick Lazio, who lost to Hillary Clinton in the 2000 New York Senate race.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is considering running for the governor of New York in 2010.

"I'm thinking about it but I don't know if I'm at the point of seriously considering it. It's a little too early," Giuliani told CNN. "I know how to send signals; if I wanted to I would do it. I am not leaning [in either direction]."

A recent Quinnipiac poll suggest Giuliani is well positioned to defeat unpopular incumbent Democrat David Paterson. Were the election held today, Giuliani would beat Paterson 52 percent to 34 percent, according to the poll.

As Politico notes, however, polls show that Giuliani is more likely to lose should New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo get in the race. The poll shows Giuliani trailing Cuomo 51 percent to 39 percent.

Sixty percent of New York voters disapprove of the job Governor David Paterson has done in office and sixty-three percent do not feel he deserves to be elected for a full term, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll out Monday. His approval rating stands at just 28 percent.

Paterson was sworn in last year after former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal.

Fifty-three percent of Paterson’s constituents feel he should announce now that he will not run for governor next year. Thirty-nine percent say he can restore his reputation and should run in 2010.

These numbers are the lowest any New York governor has ever received.

In a potential Democratic primary match-up, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo beats Paterson sixty-one percent to eighteen percent. And in a potential general election match-up, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani tops Paterson fifty three to thirty two percent.

Cuomo tops Giuliani fifty-three percent to thirty-six percent in a head-to-head matchup.

Among New Yorkers’ complaints is Patterson’s handling of the budget. Seventy percent of New York voters disapprove of the governor’s handling of the matter.

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