Breaking News: Rudy Giuliani hints at dropping out

Rudy Giuliani appears to be pondering an end to his long pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination.

In a meeting in the back of his chartered plane en route to St. Petersburg, Fla., a short while ago, the onetime, longtime GOP front-runner told a small group of reporters, including The Times' Louise Roug: "The winner of Florida will win the nomination."

He then went on to predict he would win. And his spokeswoman, Maria Comella, said later he was speaking with confidence.

But that's an unusually categorical statement suggesting that only a total first-place upset by Giuliani, who trails both Mitt Romney and John McCain in all major polls for Florida's Republican primary tomorrow, will keep him in the competition, despite previous repeated vows to continue.

Giuliani's campaign, which led in national polls when it began and stayed there for many months, is showing signs of serious financial fatigue. This month his top staffers are foregoing their paychecks so the maximum amount of money can be invested to salvage his political fortunes in the Sunshine State, which was where Giuliani's late-state strategy was to kick into high gear.

So far, he's yet to finish first anywhere and ended up behind Rep. Ron Paul in Iowa and Nevada.

In his meeting with reporters today, Giuliani added that, no matter what happens Tuesday, he  definitely would  participate in the Republican debate co-sponsored by The Times on Wednesday at the Reagan Library.

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo credit: Don Emmert AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Eric]

Rudy will kill the porn industry by the way... He'd lose a lot of votes if more folks knew that ;-)

[Eric]

Where are all the Ron Paul supporters??? I speak with hundreds of people a day, and everyone thinks he's a tad out there... okay, way out there. No one I know or have met supports him, so is it just the same dozen people online supporting him???

Damn shame, cause' I think Rudy would be solid as president. Giuliani still has a chance, but if he goes, then Romney IS the man. Sorry bout' that, Huckabee and Paul...

[GOV WATCH_DOG]

Hey GIULIANI,

I Think there looking for some DICTATORS that maintain the OFFENSIVE like you... OPENINGS in SUDAN, KENYA, CAMBODIA, PAKISTAN, INDONESIA, etc...

APPLY NOW and leave this Country for the FREE with COMPLETE LIBERTY

BTW,

Take McCAIN, BUSH, CHENNEY, GONZALEZ, PELOSI, FEINSTEIN, LIEBERMAN, HUCKABEE, REID, and the rest of the CORRUPT CESS POOL of CRAP IN WASHINGTON DC!

[SheilaNoya]

Looks like the Republicans are stuck with war mongering, amnesty loving McCain as their nominee now. Oh well, at least he hates those crazy evangelicals (even though he's temporarily sucking up to them). Of course, some people are STILL naive enough to think the GOP would actually give Ron Paul the nomination and that provides a few laughs too. At least you can't say this horse race is boring!

[PRE]

Rudy has already said that he would be supporting McCain if he wasn't running himself. McCain is a great conservative with a conservative voting record, rather than a flip-flopper whose record totally denies his rhetoric.

[uw]

Good riddance. And please take the other evil minion of the wealthy ruling class with you- Mitt Romney.

And to you folks ranting about "immigration" this and "immigration that: you're being used by The Right for your vote. Just like you were in 2004 with the "gay marriage referendum". Just another bogus "issue" concocted by right wing strategists to get the middle class into the voting booths to vote for Republicans. You're all being played again.

And to you anti-aborion imbeciles: same thing. You have all been used.

[Aang]

This Proves that the Liberal Media Hates Rudy!

Go Rudy!

[Brian]

"Ron Paul will NEVER get the nomination........EVER"

Jeff Childress, that's not the point. Us Ron Paul supporters honestly don't care if he doesn't. The fact that someone has finally spoken for us, those who cared about limited government, free markets, and stop meddling around the world, is an award in itself. Paul may not be nominated (but keep in mind he's lasted longer than Fred Thompson, Tancredo, Hunter, Brownback, Gilmore, Tommy Thompson, Dodd, Biden, Richardson) but he has already made his impact felt, and he'll be revered in the future just as Reagan is now.

[Brad L. Hotz]

Rudy would be such a better President then McLiberal or Runny. New York was vastly improved under his leadership, and Rudy is very articulate and Presidential. So sad... Guess we have to cross our fingers that Obama won't let us down...

[cd]

Rudy Giuliani is a joke. He has been revealed as the big spending, liberal candidate that he is. Soon Romney will be exposed for the same thing. It is laughable that "Republicans" want to get rid of Ron Paul when he is the only candidate that supports the party's ACTUAL platform. Sean Hannity and Rush are chodes that are big government RINOs.

[JM]

Rudy was NEVER a frontrunner. The small handful of people who own all media wanted him to win. Luckily American voters know better!

[mike]

Ron Paul, the brightest of the bunch is blowing the whistle on the military industrial complex/war machine, the corruption and the greed of big business that truly runs the country. He's the ONLY real representative of change left! www.ronpaulforpresident2008.com

[Patric]

Rudy was on a radio show awhile ago talking to a Ron Paul supporter. He told the gentleman that he needed serious medical attention with a therapist for supporting Ron Paul. Bet he was just jealous that he didn't have anyone like that supporting him. The way I see it, you need serious medical attention if you support anyone other than Ron Paul. All the other ones are kooks, he's the only honest one up there with a plan to fix this mess we're in. All the other ones are just going for the power grab. Bastards. Vote Ron Paul and save our nation.

[LA Joker]

Didn't he beat Giuliani 5 out of 6 times or more?

[John]

Ron Paul who?????

[Ken]

The only reason Rudy is vowing to stay in the race long enough to be in the debate on Wednesday is to give enough excuse for the debate to exclude Ron Paul, even though Rudy is behind Ron Paul right now. Ron Paul should be in that debate and Rudy should not be.

[Timmy J]

psssst! Ron Paul is lame! Pass it on!

Before anyone gets too invested in Mike Bloomberg
saving the day, be aware that he is vulnerable to
the results of investigations of not only his
involvement in the recent senatorial election in
Connecticut (where he stole the election from Ned
Lamont) but also of his involvement in the financial
exploitation of middle-class students at Johns Hopkins
University. The college finance scandal will be a
major issue in the presidential election.

[Lou]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On today's menu you have two choices: Bad and Worse, not necessarilly in that order. It's not so much as voting who you want to get in as it is voting to keep someone out.
Hillary has zero managment experience, never had to meet a payroll and acts like the shrew she is. Hell, she couldn't control her philandering husband and then failed to dump him after the "stains" of a
"non sexual nature" showed up on Monicas dress.
McCain is part of the old school Washinton politbureau. Too old, too liberal and certainly not a Republican. I'd need to see who his running mate might be because he won't live long enough to complete his term in office. The only one of the bunch, including both parties who has had any management experience is Romney, like itor not. He did OK in Mass. a Democratic venue. He's self made as far as $ go. All the rest are clones of Dennis Kacunich.

[Jason]

Frankly I think politics in general is pathetic right now. The leading Democrats can't stop pointing fingers & making accusations & John Edwards seems to be the "nice guy finishing last", which is really a shame because I think he CAN connect with the middle class & low income segments of the population. I know as a person with a disability, I'm impressed with his ideas on helping the disabled community. His was also the ONLY campaign out of the top 5 from BOTH parties that responded directly to my inquiry of his views on disability rights & issues. As far as the finger pointing & all that crap, seems the Republicans are turning to such tactics too now. It's really pathetic that the emphasis gets taken off what REALLY counts....THE ISSUES. People & (ESPECIALLY) the media, say McCain is too much a soldier, Romney flip-flops or is too corporate (I tend to think that moreso than I think negatively of McCain) & Huckabee turns too many off because of his beliefs. Maybe it would be nice to have someone with some good values & morals in the White House for once. Sure beats Billary having an affair in the White House, that OUR tax money pays for, then denying it! I grew up in a Republican household but now I'd say I'm a liberal-conservative. Yes I believe in the sanctity of life but I also believe it should be left up to the individual. Yes I believe marriage should be between a man & a woman but I think we all have a right to love and/or live with who we want. Why else would we be granted such freedoms in the Constitution? And why the need for an amendment? Yes I believe we should be able to own guns, but not without some checks & balances (case in point...Va. Tech...my alma mater). I think BOTH parties have it wrong. It's not so much a matter of my party is better than yours but who can bring everyone together & what can they do to bring everyone together to create the most good & best changes for our country & our (legal) citizens. None of us would ever want to be forced to practice one religion or be denied our beliefs. Whether you are a spiritual person or person of faith or not, I think we can agree we DO have the freedom to choose if and/or how we believe or worship or don't worship as well as the freedom to do or not do MOST of what we do in our every day lives. So why should politics be any different? And why is it that the Democrats say they're right & the Republicans are wrong or vice versa? BOTH sides have some good ideas & valid points. Only when the politicians & public realize that & people start to come together to work on improving things will they TRULY improve.

[hector]

someone here mentioned that Rudy should throw his support behind one of the other republicans so Rudy would be condidered for VP. What support? 4% does not buy the VP joker. Rudy was a scam from the beginning, he is taking all his contributions home.

[Tim]

Whether you are a Rudy supporter or not you should be frightened by this article. It states, "Breaking News: Rudy Giuliani hints at dropping out." Where does Rudy mention anything about dropping out? They are trying to spin it to what they want. Beware of the media complex!

[Mike]

For all you people who support the Libertarian cause, I suggest you read some history. In particular, the history of London in the 1850's when "libertarian values" were the order of the day. Serious outbreaks of cholera and other diseases happened because those that could afford it built a crude sewer system while, just a few blocks away, those who could not went without. Their waste was cleared out of cess pools and carted away outside the city. Then the less well off began to get sick but the libertairians had no sympathy because, they said, these people were dirty, low paid and didn't organize. Then suddenly the libertarians began to get sick. It seemed it was their sewer system which was leaking into the universal water supply, known as the Broad Street Pump, and spreading the diseases.

You have to have a social structure to protect all the people. That means taxes to pay for sewer repairs. Road repairs. Schools. Hospital care for those who cannot afford medical treatment. Ron Paul has as much chance of getting elected to the Presidency as Mickey Mouse. Granted, he' not as dumb or as dangerous as the one we have in the White House right now but he's not a good replacement either. Still, it's pointless to even get into the subject. Ron Paul isn't going to get elected so if you support him get over it. Neither will Obama get elected. Once we get into areas where there are concentrations blacks, like Los Angeles, but they are not the majority like South Carolina, Obama will bite the dust as Whites and Latino's come out to oppose him in force. The majority of white voters do not want to see Obama in the White House and neither do the Latino's. What a horror story to imagine Jesse Jackson on Obama's left and Al Sharpton on his right standing in the Oval Office. BTW, noticed how those two have gone quiet in all of this? They been told to lie low until it's over whereas, usually, they have their faces right up against the tv cameras.

Should Obama get elected, they will appear and start demanding and blackmailing. Everything from reparation for slasvery (what a joke that is) and free everything for the poor downtrodden minorities. Especially expensive demands will come from Jesse Jackson so he can get his fingers into the cash register. However, should Obama get elected, watch your tax dollars get thrown into a bottomless pit called Africa. Obama's roots are in Kenya. At the moment that place is a horror story. If it had happened on Obama's watch, we would now be sending US troops, money and material by the plane load into that area. Not good. The next President will probably be McCain or Clinton. Romney is a member of a cult so he can forget being elected. Rudy Guiliani is a flake. Huckabee is a bible thumping nutcase. John Edwards would be a good bet but he's a trial lawyer which is a bad image and he's going to run out of the only thing which matters in US politics. Money.

[rick]

Ronny paul, the dennis kucinich of the right. Both are nuts and both ar losers ho will never sit in the oval office. Ronny paul is a loser.

[Rudy Giuliani]

Rudy placed behind Ron Paul in South Carolina also... Don't forget that.