Giuliani Plans Return To Politics

Rudolph Giuliani said Wednesday that he plans to return to politics but that it is too early to say if that will be for the 2008 presidential campaign.

"I think I'll return to politics," Giuliani said in a speech to business leaders.

Called "America's Mayor," after his performance in leading New York City after the Sept. 11 attacks, Giuliani has spent the years since working as a corporate executive and public speaker.

The business event, hosted by Visa USA, brought together corporate leaders, anti-fraud experts, and government officials to discuss credit card security. But the first question from audience members was about Giuliani's possible return to public office.

Asked if he had any "political visions," Giuliani laughed and rubbed his forehead.

"I have some political visions. I don't know what they are yet, they're a little foggy," he said.

Though he was not asked specifically about the next presidential campaign, Giuliani mentioned the 2008 race and said "it's too far away" to make a decision.

National polls regularly place Giuliani among the most popular Republican vote-getters, and he is asked about his plans at almost every public appearance. He usually deflects the question by suggesting he would not decide on 2008 until after the 2006 congressional elections.

During a visit to Denmark on Sunday, Giuliani said he would consider the presidential race "next year."

In the 2004 presidential campaign, the former mayor campaigned for President Bush's re-election.

Giuliani remains at the top of Republicans' preference for president in 2008, along with Arizona Sen. John McCain, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll released Wednesday. Giuliani was backed by 26 percent, while McCain was supported by 23 percent. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., remains ahead among Democrats in the 2008 White House race, backed by 42 percent of Democrats. That is about 30 percentage points ahead of Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and former Vice President Al Gore.