LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had harsh words for President Barack Obama during a campaign stop in Las Vegas, saying he has accomplished nothing and will turn the nation more socialist than France if re-elected.
"What do we want to elect, an unsuccessful person? We tried that, OK, we tried a person of no accomplishment," Giuliani said. "Now let's try something different, let's try a man who has actually been successful in life."
Giuliani told reporters Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has strong convictions, and the health care overhaul he passed as Massachusetts governor isn't a liability. Giuliani criticized Romney's health care law last year because it served as a model for the federal health care overhaul that Republicans want repealed.
"I don't think it matters what the difference is between the two," Giuliani said of the Massachusetts and federal health care laws. "What matters is the future."
Giuliani also downplayed comments he made last year suggesting Romney's shifts on abortion, gay marriage and universal health care could be problematic.
"This is what happens in a campaign, people make statements, sometimes exaggerated, sometimes emotional," Giuliani said. "Gov. Romney has very strong convictions. ... There are times when you change your mind about things."
During his stop in the state with the nation's highest unemployment rate, Giuliani accused Obama of being anti-business and creating "thousands of pages of regulations" aimed at turning the country into a socialist government.
"Anybody in Las Vegas who is going to vote for him is out of their mind, now that's probably true in the rest of the country, too," Giuliani said. "He's going to make France look like a low-tax country."
Giuliani also admonished Chief Justice John Roberts for making "a terrible mistake" by breaking with the Supreme Court's other conservative justices and upholding Obama's health care law.
"He's now given Congress the unlimited power to tax us," Giuliani said.
It was not the first time Giuliani loaned his political star power to the Romney campaign. He notably joined Romney for a pizza break with some New York City firefighters in May. Giuliani was mayor when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center's twin towers in 2001.
Giuliani and Romney were rivals in the 2008 Republican presidential primary.
