Giuliani: GOP governors are making up for Obama

(CBS News) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's keynote address at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night -- which focused more on his own governing style than Mitt Romney's -- highlighted the way Republican governors have been on the forefront of the conservative movement, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday.

"I think what he was talking about was Chris Christie as a representative of a lot of other governors," Giuliani said on "CBS This Morning."

Those governors, he said, include John Kasich of Ohio, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Rick Snyder of Michigan. From those leaders, Giuliani said, the nation as seen "about as much reform as we've had in the last 20 to 30 years."

Indeed, the Republican agendas in those states, which for the most part include dramatic cuts to government programs, fired up conservatives and enraged liberals. In many ways, it has shifted debate over the role of government from a federal level to the state level.

"All these guys have done exactly what Obama hasn't done," Giuliani said. By making cuts to pension plans and entitlements, he said, they've "touched a third rail."

By choosing Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney has chosen to follow the philosophical path laid out by Christie and other Republican governors, Giuliani added. "We're going to take on Medicare, we're going to take on entitlements."

While Giuliani had nothing but praise for his fellow Republicans, all gathered at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, he acknowledged that he is much more moderate than most Republicans on social issues. When asked whether he doesn't really fit in, the former mayor said, "I guess that's right." However, he said that political parties undergo "cyclical changes" and that he expects the wing of the party that is moderate on social issues to "grow in time."