Giuliani Cries Foul Over Leaked Presidential Strategy

For a man with ambitions that could run to the White House, the last thing Rudy Giuliani needed was let the world know about his weaknesses: that stormy failed second marriage, that association with a disgraced official, and those inconvenient views on the issues of the day.

But that is precisely what happened to the former mayor of New York, who regularly leads the opinion polls of potential contenders for the presidency in 2008, when a 140-page strategy dossier was obtained by the New York Daily News.

Mr Giuliani has said he does not intend to seek the presidency - a claim undermined by the dossier's ambitious programme of raising $25m (£13m) by the end of March by tapping professional athletes as well as corporate titans such as Rupert Murdoch.

To the scarcely concealed delight yesterday of aides for Senator John McCain, Mr Giuliani's biggest rival for the Republican leadership, the document's unknown author also admitted that Mr Giuliani could decide to drop out of the race if faced with "insurmountable" obstacles. The admission was hardly the message Mr Giuliani would want to send to potential donors in the early days of a campaign.

Mr Giuliani's steady demeanour following the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001 elevated him to the national stage. It also led to a lucrative post-mayoral career as a security consultant.

Those claims to security expertise seemed a little tenuous yesterday after Mr Giuliani's spokeswoman said the dossier was stolen from aboard a private plane, photocopied and then replaced. She said the mayor was a victim of "dirty tricks".

But while Mr Giuliani continues to lead the opinion polls - regularly outperforming Mr McCain - his staff remain uneasy. "False comfort with numbers," said one note written in the margin, according to the New York Daily News.

Mr Giuliani also carries baggage. He is on his third marriage, and his former police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, faces a financial scandal. His support for abortion rights, gun control and civil unions for same-sex couples puts him at odds with the religious right, a powerful force during the Republican primaries."All will come out - in worst light," the document says. "$100m against us on this stuff."