Rudy Giuliani

If the statements of Rudy Giuliani's top political aide carry any weight, the former mayor of New York will not be challenging Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate next year, but the possibility of a White House run in 2008 is not out of the question.

"Right now, with all the commitments he has here in maintaining the success of Giuliani Partners and now growing a law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, I just see the commitment as too great to undertake any sort of run within the next year," Anthony Carbonetti told the Associated Press. "It's not possible."

But Carbonetti did not etch the remark in stone, noting, "Rudy is someone who never says never."

Giuliani has been touted as a potential candidate for either the U.S. Senate in 2006, or the governorship of New York.

Many political observers see the ex-mayor as a leading contender for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.

"He doesn't have to make that decision anytime soon," Carbonetti told AP when asked about a possible White House run.

"Who knows what's going to happen. He'll tell you his own personal experiences. He's someone who survived cancer and, we all thank God, lived through Sept. 11," Carbonetti said. "So he never says never, and never tries to predict the future."

Lee Miringoff, head of Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion, said the statement carries weight.

"On the assumption there are not a lot of free agents in the Giuliani camp, [the Carbonetti statement] if not a signal, it's certainly a very large trial balloon that he's looking for '08, not '06," Miringoff said.