Giuliani: "I Am Committed"

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Mayor Giuliani erased any doubt Saturday that he is running for president and signaled that California's moderate voters will be key to his strategy to win the Republican nomination.

In an upbeat, 45-minute address to hundreds of delegates to the Republican state convention, Mr. Giuliani stressed his unwavering and vigorous support for the war on terror. He carefully skirted divisive social issues, such as abortion and gay rights, which put him at odds with many conservatives.

"We learned from Ronald Reagan that the way that you achieve peace is through strength not weakness," Mr. Giuliani said. "We're going to prevail over terrorists because people who live in freedom have more strength than anyone else."

Mr. Giuliani called the war in Iraq "really important" to the broader war on terror and he ridiculed Congress's plan to debate a non-binding resolution disapproving of President Bush's new strategy to boost American troop strength in Iraq.

"What I don't get is the non-binding resolution," Mr. Giuliani said. "I don't get that. In the business world if two weeks were spent on a non-binding resolution, it would be considered non-productive," he said to widespread laughter from the crowd.

The former mayor, who is expected to make his outside-the-beltway experience a centerpiece of his campaign, said the Iraq War debate is emblematic of the broader paralysis in Washington on Social Security, immigration, tort reform, and energy policy.

"They just can't decide any tough questions. A nonbinding resolution is a comment without making a decision….What we pay people in Washington for is to make decisions," Mr. Giuliani said, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.

While Mr. Giuliani did not mention Senator McCain of Arizona or other potential competitors for the Republican nomination, the former mayor did say that presidents do not have the same option for equivocation as lawmakers. Mr. Giuliani also said he thought a candidate with experience as a mayor or governor would make a better chief executive.

Mr. Giuliani boasted of his successes lowering taxes and reining in the scourge of crime that descended on New York in the early 1990s. "That wasn't liberty. That wasn't freedom. That was a form of tyranny," he said.

On education, Mr. Giuliani said, "It's real, real simple. The Republican Party is for parents and the Democrats are for bureaucrats." Teachers unions are a reliable Democratic voting bloc.

As he concluded his speech, Mr. Giuliani reminded the delegates of their role in picking the next president. "I wish…you'd decide on me," he said.

Asked at a news conference whether he is certain to seek the presidency or is still merely exploring a campaign, the former mayor said, "Didn't it sound like I was committed? Yes, I am committed. This is something I believe that I can bring something to."

In response to a question about whether he had formally announced his campaign with his address Saturday, Mr. Giuliani said, "I think I may have. I'm not sure. I don't know what ‘formally' means. We'll figure out how to do it in five places so we get more attention."

Mr. Giuliani said he was closely watching a debate in California about whether to move the state's presidential primaries to February from June. "If California does it, it changes the whole nature of this primary," he said.

Mr. Giuliani said the proposed move would favor candidates capable of raising the money to compete in California and he suggested it would encourage presidential hopefuls to focus more on California and less on the small states who have traditionally kicked off the nominating contests. "I think it will have a big impact," he said.

One delegate, Audrey Voigt of San Bernardino, Calif, said Mr. Giuliani closed the sale with her. "He puts pride back into us as Americans," she said.

Several delegates interviewed by The New York Sun said they were not troubled by the fact that Mr. Giuliani said nothing to the crowd about his views on abortion, gay rights, or gun control. "I think most of us have come to realize that there are emotional issues and there are real issues. A lot of the issues he didn't talk about are ones that are not going to affect my daily life," a retired state worker and Republican committee member from Solano County, Calif., Julia Thompson, said.

"I like his optimistic attitude, not negative, but positive," a boat equipment manufacturer from San Diego, Mary Humphrey, said.

Of course, some of the fervor of those in the audience could be the product of self-selection. Still, the unexpected enthusiasm towards Mr. Giuliani suggests that social conservatives may be losing clout within the California GOP.

The most obvious cause for the shift is the recent success of Governor Schwarzenegger, who has won two statewide elections on a platform preaching fiscal conservatism and a laissez-faire social agenda. His popularity and its benefits for the party seem to have emboldened GOP moderates while prompting some social conservatives to keep mum about their policy differences.

One of the few attendees to criticize Mr. Giuliani publicly after his address was the president of the Traditional Values Coalition, Reverend Louis Sheldon.

"It was so obvious that he was hiding behind the 9/11 popularity," Rev. Sheldon said in an interview. "Tremendous rhetoric, but I'm wondering, does it match up to his character?"

Rev. Sheldon said Mr. Giuliani's surface appeal would erode in the coming months as Republicans pose specific question about the former mayor's positions on a wide array of social issues. "He said presidents have to make decisions. Would he veto a gay marriage bill?" the reverend asked.

Outside the hall, other gay marriage opponents made clear that they do not intend to allow Mr. Giuliani's presidential bid to evade a discussion of his support for gay rights. The mayor's critics distributed copies of official-looking marriage certificates for a same-sex male couple "certified by President Rudolph Giuliani" in November 2009.

The fake certificates were a sign that, as the presidential race unfolds, the debate over Mr. Giuliani's pro-gay rights stance could turn ugly. Listed as a witness to the mock marriage, was "Harvey Milkstone," a variation on the name of a San Francisco city councilor, Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978 and is revered in the gay community.

The former mayor also encouraged Republicans to push their agenda for change in public education. "Republican ideas will save our schools much better than just remaining locked in to repetitive monopolistic practices that the other party just seems to be totally owned by," Mr. Giuliani said.