Giuliani stops in Rochester

A whirlwind trip to Rochester for Rudy Giuliani. He stopped in Rochester for a couple of hours Friday Night before heading to New Hampshire for the weekend. The Republican candidate for president has his work cut out for him there. A USA Today Gallup Poll shows him trailing Mitt Romney and John McCain.

But Giuliani was in goods spirits and good health Friday night as he signed autographs after his plane touched down. And in the spirit of the season, he had one message.

“What I’d like to say to the people of Rochester is Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” he said.

Questions of whether Giuliani would make it to Rochester loomed after he fell ill on the campaign trail earlier this week. But he did make it a little after 7 p.m. – just in time to head to a campaign fundraiser in Brighton, and just in time to remind Rochesterians to vote in the Feb. 5 primary election.

“This is a really important election,” he said. “It's going to determine the future. It's going to determine whether we have a future of optimism and hope and expansion and growth.”

With Giuliani losing ground in important primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, some people are wondering: why make a stop in Rochester? And why now?

“These are terrible times for him,” said Curt Smith, a political analyst. “He's looking for a firewall to break one defeat after another and he hasn't found it. He ought not to be here. He needs to be here for the bucks."

Smith says by the time New Yorkers even hold a primary election, Giuliani could already be out of the game altogether.

“He will have won nothing before that, not unless he wins Florida on January 29th, and he won't win Florida if he's 0-5 before that,” he said.

But Giuliani told supporters Friday night he is not backing down.

“Tomorrow we'll be in New Hampshire for two days, and we'll take a little time off for Christmas, like everybody does, then we'll be back on the trail the day after Christmas.”