THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Rudolph W. Giuliani touts his “12 Commitments” on the campaign trail. But he has also committed to following former President Ronald Reagan’s so-called “11th Commandment”: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.
Mr. Giuliani has been campaigning virtually alone in Florida as his rivals for the G.O.P. nomination were focusing on Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina. But now, as he put it, “everybody’s coming to Florida,” for the state’s primary on Jan. 29. With a strategy that relies heavily on a win here, Mr. Giuliani engaged in ground-level battle with his opponents for the first time, and he appears to be ramping up his criticisms about his rivals to mark their landings here.
“I supported the Bush tax cuts. John McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts with the Democrats twice,” he said before a crowd of mostly older voters. He later said Mr. Romney was “equivocal” in his support for the cuts.
Asked during a press briefing if he was breaking the 11th Commandment, Mr. Giuliani replied, “You mean contrast? Nah, I just pointed out where there are differences.”
“Welcome to Florida,” he said, without directly addressing a different question about the contests going on elsewhere. “We’re ready to make our case here in Florida with them.”
Mr. Giuliani was joined by Louis H. Freeh, the F.B.I. director from 1993-2001, and Jon Voight, the actor. This was his second visit to The Villages, a sprawling planned community in the exurbs of central Florida. He fondly recalled how at his last appearance, held outdoors, an eagle flew overhead.
“I want the eagle back,” he said, “I thought it was a great omen.”
But this event was held indoors — and no one seemed to regret it.
Mr. Giuliani again referred to the eagle when talking about how he wants to “take the top off the roof, so that people can look way up in the sky, at that eagle, and kind of dream as soaring as far as they can go.”
But throughout Mr. Giuliani’s speech, the sound of rain pounding on the roof and thunder led people to worriedly look at the ceiling.
Mr. Giuliani did not address the weather’s prophetic implications this time.
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