But to the other, perhaps more serious questions, what is Rudy really after? There is little doubt that he would very much like to be president, but every time I check in with political operatives out this way I get the distinct feeling that Giuliani is playing a different game. You see, much like his fellow Big Apple resident Donald Trump, Rudy has a lot of business interests going on. He gets involved in deals around the globe as well as charging lucrative speaking fees across the country. But when the bloom wore off the rose after his 2008 drubbing, it had an adverse effect on his fortunes.

Rudy may be far more in love with the idea of people talking about his running for president than investing much actual time, money, and energy into it. In his field of business, much as with Hollywood, almost all press is good press as long as they spell your name right. (And Giuliani isn’t that easy of a name for novices to type.)

The differences between “thinking about running” and actually doing it are fairly easy to spot. We’ll know Rudy is serious if he starts dipping into his own pocket, hiring some high-power campaign staff, and setting up functional operations in New Hampshire and Florida.