Politics on the Hudson

Rudy Giuliani indicates he turned down last night’s PBS debate moderated by Tavis Smiley because he is in a fundraising mode trying looking to maximize donations before the Sept. 30 end of the third quarter.

The debate, which focused on issues important to blacks and other minorities, also was boycotted by Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, John McCain and Fred Thompson.

“We gotta’ raise money by Saturday and Sunday and I knew that for a long time,’’ Giuliani told the Christian Broadcast Network in a taped interview. “And these fundraisers have been scheduled for three, four months. It would have been inconceivable that we could have done any debate during this time, so people can say anything they want, but that’s just the reality of it.’’

Giuliani also talked about his prayer life and his family during the interview with Christian Broadcast Network correspondent David Brody. The interview can be found on the Internet at http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/blogs/brodyfile/