Giuliani Says Bush Is The Man

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani endorsed George W. Bush for president Friday, saying the Texas governor could provide the same kind of "focused leadership" exhibited during the Reagan-Bush administration.

"I believe that Governor Bush is the best candidate -- Republican, Democrat, independent or anything else -- to be our next president," said Giuliani, a Republican. "The record that he's achieved in Texas alone is enough to demonstrate that."

Bush, speaking to Giuliani and a City Hall audience by speakerphone, complimented the mayor on his work in New York and joked about his likely run for Senate.

"Hey, senator -- I mean mayor," said the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. "We're a winning ticket in your great state. ... I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have your endorsement."

Giuliani, who served as a U.S. attorney under President Reagan, said his visit Thursday to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., gave him a chance to reflect on the importance of having a Republican in the White House.

"It's focused me on just how much this country is in need of the kind of leadership that we had during the Reagan-Bush administration, the kind of focus in our foreign policy, the kind of support of our military that we had then, the kind of sense of unified purpose that Americans had," Giuliani said.

"Americans could agree or disagree with President Reagan or President Bush, but they knew where they stood, and they knew what to react to, even. And I think we need that kind of focused leadership again," said the mayor.