THE RETURN OF RUDY - AT 7:08 P.M. ET:  Rudy Giuliani may run for governor of New York next year.  If he runs and wins, he'd automatically be in position for another shot at the presidency, either in 2012 0r 2016.  From CBS:

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.

The problem is that Rudy is not as popular in New York as people elsewhere think.  He was one of New York City's great mayors, but getting things done meant offending legions of special interests and minority-group leaders who felt they weren't shown proper deference. 

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.

COMMENT:  New York is a Democratic state.  Chances are, Cuomo will beat the incumbent governor for the gubernatorial nomination.  It's uphill for Rudy.

August 25, 2009