Ben Smith:
Piers Morgan just tweeted a preview an interview to air Monday, in which "Rudy Giuliani says he's 'more likely' to run for [the] Presidency if Sarah Palin does."
"My one chance, if I have a chance, is that I'm considered a moderate," Giuliani said.
He also criticized the "blood libel" line: "I mean it's a bad word to use, a bad connotation, going back to the whole history of anti-Semitism. This wasn't at that level.'"
From this, it doesn't sound like Giuliani thinks he's got a realistic shot at winning the nomination. As Ben notes, serious presidential candidates don't base their decision to run on what other potential candidates do. But Giuliani is designating himself as the go-to guy for attacking Sarah Palin, a role Republicans are clearly desperate to fill.
The only thing is that within the context of a GOP primary, it's hard to see how criticism of Palin from Giuliani will have a major impact on her support. Perhaps criticism from someone with credibility in the religious right -- someone like Mike Huckabee -- could hurt Palin's chances, but attacks from Giuliani seem likely to only steel the resolve of Palin's hard core base and reinforce her narrative as the "rogue" one.