Rudy Giuliani campaigns in Iowa on December 12, 2007 (Andrea Bernstein/WNYC)

NEW YORK, NY December 13, 2007 —After yesterday’s Republican debate, former mayor Rudy Giuliani stopped briefly to campaign in West Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein reports.

REPORTER: Though he’s leading in national polls, Giuliani is trailing far behind Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee here, and he’s not spending much time in the Hawkeye state. But after yesterday’s largely genial debate Giuliani stopped in a small retail strip to shake hands, sign autographs, and pose for pictures.

GIULIANI: Are you sure you have a camera that works?

REPORTER: Giuliani crunched through the Iowa ice before making the briefest of remarks to a small but enthusiastic crowd braving sub-freezing temperatures. During the debate, Giuliani stayed largely focused on issues popular with the GOP, like cutting taxes and reducing the size of government.

He once again defended payments for security expenses related to Judith Nathan, saying it was a bookkeeping issue and that he couldn’t think of a public figure who’d led a more transparent life than he had. For WNYC, I’m Andrea Bernstein in Des Moines, Iowa.