Giuliani: I’m more likely to run in 2012 if Palin runs

I know what I said about Christie, but I’ve changed my mind.

Clearly, it’s this guy who’s the ultimate RINO.

“The more Republicans in which I can show a contrast, probably the better chance, the better chance that I have,” Giuliani told CNN’s Piers Morgan in an interview set to air at 9 pm. ET Monday. Portions of the interview will air Friday (tonight) on CNN’s “John King, USA” at 7 p.m. ET.

But if he does run, Giuliani says he would concentrate on winning Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, sites of the first presidential nominating contests. In 2008 Giuliani focused his resources in Florida, a strategy that that led to the demise of his run after he finished third in the state’s primary.

He doesn’t have a prayer in Iowa or South Carolina, needless to say, and Romney’s financial and geographic advantage would make New Hampshire an exceedingly high hurdle. In fact, the only reason this soundbite is interesting is because it’s as close as we’re likely to get to a potential candidate acknowledging the “Palin vs. anti-Palin” primary dynamic with which I’ve bored you guys so many times before. Just today, PPP is out with new national numbers showing her net favorability among Republicans higher than any other candidate’s — and yet she pulls just 14 percent of the vote, tied for a distant second behind Huckabee. If there were no moderates in the field and it looked like she might very well emerge from the social con side of the party, then yeah, Rudy’s anti-Palin strategy makes a lot of sense. His problem is that there are formidable moderate candidates out there — Romney has all but written off tea partiers — and they’ll follow the same strategy, emphasizing in studiously vague terms that only a “competent,” “non-polarizing” nominee has a chance to win (without mentioning any names, natch). In fact, one of the intriguing footnotes to PPP’s poll is Pawlenty inching up to eight percent and cutting into Romney’s numbers, proof that the moderate vote may indeed be hotly contested. What’s the case for pro-choice Rudy, who hasn’t held elective office in almost 10 years, over either of them?

Palin’s actually going to be in Rudy’s backyard next month, so consider the clip below “round one.” Exit question: Is Mike Pence the “Palin” and the “anti-Palin”?