Pataki May Join GOP Field; Criticizes Obama

Former New York Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, is taking aim at the national debt with a new advertising campaign he launched Tuesday in New Hampshire. And as he unveiled the new ads, he said that he may still jump into the race for the GOP presidential nod, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

Last month, he indicated that he would not run, but he said Tuesday that the recent decision of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels not to jump into the race may prompt him to reconsider.

“I’m not a candidate at this point, but down the road, you never say never,” Pataki said. “I’m not running now. …We’ll see what happens over the course of the next month.”

Pataki was in New Hampshire promoting the campaign designed to put pressure on President Obama and Republican presidential candidates to take on the national debt.

“President Obama has the worst fiscal record of any president in the history of our country,” Pataki said. “This year, we’ll have the largest deficit than in any year in the history of our country. …It’s not sustainable.”

Pataki created an advocacy group, No American Debt, to run ads in early primary states accusing Obama of ignoring bipartisan and Republican plans to address the deficit.