Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Thursday brushed aside his sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, saying he never really fought to win the first presidential nominating contest of 2008.
"As we move along, you're going to see that that strategy really pays off, in that we've paid a lot of attention to states that some other candidates haven't paid as much attention to," he told CNN television.
Giuliani, whose "late state" strategy called for skipping Iowa's ice and snow in favor of pouring resources into political prizes like Florida, remains a top national contender for the Republican nod, recent polls show.
But the tough-talking former prosecutor, who was mayor of New York during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, struggled to explain away his four-percent showing -- below even longshot Texas Representative Ron Paul.
"It's one that, quite honestly, we didn't expect that we would win. And we didn't put a lot of resources into it. Now we'll move on to the others, 28 more that are coming up," he told MSNBC television from Florida.
"I think our message -- of being on offense against terrorism and being on offense for a growth economy and having been tested by crisis and having been tested by having to handle difficult problems -- I think that message will succeed in a number of these primaries," he said.
Giuliani also congratulated former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, the ordained Baptist minister who romped in Iowa, for his "really big victory there."
"He ran a great race in Iowa. I've been in numerous debates with him. He's very positive. He's very strong. And he really is to be congratulated on his victory tonight," said Giuliani.
Giuliani, who rose to national prominence in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and is sometimes dubbed "America's Mayor" by supporters, has recently ramped up efforts to win over voters on national security issues.
Speaking on Fox, Giuliani said he would seek to "double" the number of troops under US command in Afghanistan and vowed to devote himself to the capture of Al-Qaeda terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
"If I am the president, I will devote a tremendous amount of attention to trying to capture him. And I'm sure we have. And I think we have to keep redoubling our efforts," he told Fox.
On Wednesday, his campaign released an advertisement that shows bin Laden shooting an assault rifle and says the Al-Qaeda leader is "still making threats."
The advertisement also mentions "a nuclear power in chaos" -- an obvious reference to turmoil in Pakistan after opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's slaying -- and then immediately juxtaposes footage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with the words "madmen bent on creating it."
Giuliani's campaign manager said in a statement that the candidate was the only Republican who could win the November 4 election and turn traditional Democratic strongholds into Republican victories.
But the former mayor, who leads in Florida ahead of the state's January 29 primary, warned against taking anything for granted because when "you get near the end, it gets very, very close."
"Everybody can challenge anybody else here," he said.
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