Rudy Giuliani Wants Sarah Palin to Run for President ... So He'll Look Better by Comparison (VIDEO)

Appearing on 'Piers Morgan Tonight' (weekdays, 9 PM ET on CNN), former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani did something fewer and fewer Republicans are willing to do: He presented a scenario in which Sarah Palin could be elected president.

Giuliani acknowledged that Palin currently doesn't match up well against Obama in the polls, but he offered some historical context: "If we were looking at the 1980 presidential election, at this stage of that election Ronald Reagan would have looked too polarizing to beat Jimmy Carter ... Well, he turned out not to be too polarizing."

Given Giuliani's relatively rosy assessment of Palin's electoral chances, that means he would be less likely to run for president if Palin takes the plunge, right?

Actually, quite the opposite, as he told Morgan with a smile. In fact, Giuliani believes a Palin run would make it easier for a more moderate candidate like Giuliani to win the GOP primary. And suddenly Giuliani's comparison between Palin today and Reagan in 1979 seemed even more dubious -- and quite self-serving.