Giuliani doubtful about another prez run

WASHINGTON -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani Tuesday cast doubt on the prospect of making another run for president, saying he would have a hard time winning the Republican nomination with his moderate views on social issues.

Giuliani, who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP nomination in 2008 and is considered by many analysts as a long shot this time, said he'll make a decision after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"I think if I were to run, I would have a chance of winning the presidency, but I would have a hard time getting nominated," Giuliani said at the National Press Club, where he talked about 9/11 and then took questions.

He said he's looking for a strong national candidate to emerge from the crowded field of Republican hopefuls. "But I think if we're truly desperate, then I'm going to run," Giuliani joked.

In the 2008 campaign, Giuliani said he made a mistake in skipping the Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina primary -- two of the first three GOP contests -- where conservative-value voters dominate. Giuliani supports abortion rights and gay rights, which many conservatives oppose.

But he suggested he would still not fare well in those key states if he made another run."I'm simply not that conservative on social issues, and I'm not going to change just to become president," Giuliani said.In his speech, Giuliani warned against complacency about terrorism. "There's nothing special about the 10th anniversary. It just happens to be a numerical computation," he said. "Sept. 11 is not yet part of our history. Pearl Harbor is part of our history. That war is won."

The terrorists who attacked America a decade ago still seek to attack America, he said. "Sept. 11 is part of our current reality," he said. "We cannot use this an opportunity to say, 'Let's put this behind us.'"

He said he disagreed with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to bar religious figures from Sunday's 9/11 commemoration. "If I were the mayor I would allow four religious leaders to say a little prayer," Giuliani said.

He said he felt "relief and a tremendous amount of pride" at the killing of Osama bin Laden. "I thought it was President Obama's finest moment."