​What a waste of good rabble-rousing: After raging about Fort Hood, the New York terror trials, "political correctness" and such like, it appears Rudolph Giuliani is not going to run for governor, the Times reports. Fred Dicker has it too, so we doubt it's one of those left-wing smear jobs -- in fact, it seems a fairly obvious plant.

Update: Giuliani says the report is "premature." Maybe he wanted it out on Friday? That seems to be a popular GOP quitting time. Reupdate: Giuliani for Senate? Oh, why not.

Looks like Andrew Cuomo really did scare him off. But what a merry-go-round ride the Giuliani 2010 campaign has been...

Republicans began sending "Draft Rudy" messages back in the spring. The former Mayor was said, via the usual back channels, to be considering a run during the summer. His operatives also tried to get a Giuliani supporter installed as state GOP Chairman, which effort failed. Then he was supposed to be running for the Senate.

Giuliani was all over the place campaigning during the election season, which suggested live elective office hopes. Maybe, as Dicker suggests, he's going to run for Senate after all, unless some other well-respected Democrat whispers to him that he's going for Gillibrand's seat, too (but really, who like that is left?). Or maybe he'll just continue happily amassing riches in the private sector. And there's a presidential election in three years. Maybe he's hoping will scare the piss out of everybody and make America clasp him to his bosom again.