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Is Rudy Giuliani planning to run for governor? He's been flirting with the idea for months now. And he still isn't saying, suggesting this morning that the decision will ultimately depend on how "bad" things get in New York: "I got elected mayor, I believe, on the theory of—it can't get worse. So if it gets to that point, maybe I'll decide [to go for it]." And how much worse do things have to get before he decides to throw his hat into the ring?

Asked to rank where on a scale of 1 to 10 things statewide stand today, with 10 being the state of affairs in the city when he was elected in 1993, he said bluntly, "New York is in pretty bad shape. We are somewhere around, in terms of problems, at 9 or 10."

So if we're already at a "10," is that a yes? No, not really. Rudy says he'd first have to first decide what to do with his consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, and his law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani. But that matter has been pretty much solved already, clearly. The bigger issue, we presume: whether or not he's prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice and give up golfing three days a week.

GIULIANI TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR—ONLY IF THINGS 'GET WORSE' [NYP]