Pataki won't rule out presidential run

Former New York Gov. George Pataki said Monday he'd be closely watching the field of presidential hopefuls for the 2012 election - with an eye toward jumping into the race himself.

"What I'm going to be looking at are, do we have the right people out there who have that experienced leadership, who have been challenged and can bring people together, not just Republicans but independents, conservatives and conservative Democrats," he said when asked about his political future on TopLine, an ABC News program.

He added that he would "make a decision based on who else is out there and whether I believe they have those characteristics we need to be able to win this election and govern successfully."

Asked whether he was serious about running, he said, "I'm certainly not going to rule it out."

Pataki spoke for several minutes on the political segment, celebrating Republican victories in Congress and providing analysis for some of the defeats of Republicans across the country.

He also said he'd back Sarah Palin in a matchup between the former vice presidential candidate and President Barack Obama, calling Palin a serious contender.

"She's very popular and if she chooses to run she would obviously, right from the beginning, be a serious contender, sure," Pataki said. "It was hard for me to support Carl Paladino. And I did that so, certainly, if the choice is between her and President Obama I don't think I'd have any difficulty at all supporting Sarah Palin."