Just moments ago Giuliani told reporters he is dropping out of the race and endorsing John McCain.

In South Carolina Mitt Romney interrupted John McCain’s concession speech and tonight he did the same thing to Rudy Giuliani who was giving a past tense laden speech in Florida. I don’t doubt that the Romney camp wasn’t happy to hear rumors of a potential endorsement by Giuliani of McCain tomorrow and may have feared that it was going to take place tonight. With that said, the guy could have been a little more gracious and let Giuliani have a moment.

Mark Halperin is reporting from inside sources that Giuliani will endorse McCain as early as tomorrow in Simi Valley California.

CNN has a report on it and MSNBC is talking about the chatter.

The press and pundit consensus is that a probably loss by Giuliani in Florida today is a signal that he is going to have to bow out quick. With McCain and Romney polling well in what were seen as “Giuliani friendly” states across the country that is a pretty good prediction to make.

One thing you get used to hearing but always seems like a sign is when a candidate on the eve of a terrible victory starts maintaining that they will “win” the primary state. In this case I have no heard Giuliani wave off speculation that he will lose Florida by declaring that they “intend to win” and go on. Obviously no campaign ever wants to declare a loss to supporters ahead of time but those words always seem poignent ahead of what seems like a larger defeat.

So in short, it seems likely tonight could be the end for Giuliani, who knows if it really will be but at the end of the day “we expect to win” continually seems like a catch phrase for “we are raising expectations to a ludicrous level so we can get the heck out as soon as possible.”

Two reports today. One from CNN that top Giuliani staffers have been asked to work unpaid throughout January and possibly longer so that the campaign can focus resources on Florida.

Two sources in the campaign, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted the campaign was not in dire financial straits. A third campaign source, however, said “things are starting to get tight” and that “it was more telling than asking” the senior staff to forgo paychecks beginning the first of the year.

Meanwhile the Associated Press is reporting the number of staffers at around twelve including Giuliani’s campaign manager Mike DuHaime.

Both articles mention that some sources, including Mike DuHaime, say the move was “voluntary” and limited to only senior staff.

Rudy Giuliani unveiled what his campaign is calling the “largest tax cut in the history of America” in Florida yesterday.

From Giuliani’s Web site the proposal would:

• Makes all the Bush tax cuts permanent, including full repeal of the death tax.
• Index the alternative minimum tax (AMT) to inflation, and eventually repeal it.
• Reduce the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 25 percent
• Cut the capital gains and qualified dividends tax rate from 15 percent to 10 percent and will index capital assets to inflation
• Replace the dozens of tax-advantaged savings accounts with a simplified system of Retirement Savings Accounts and Lifetime Savings Accounts.
• Give all Americans the ability to purchase health insurance pre-tax through a health care standard deduction.
• Create an alternate “Fair And Simple Tax (FAST)” system that American families and small businesses could choose to go into each year, with a three-bracket structure, a 30 percent top rate, and only the most popular deductions in place.

Found via TPM Election Central of a Guardian Unlimited interview with John Deady, the co-chair of New Hampshire Veterans for Rudy Giuliani.

“He’s got I believe the knowledge and the judgement to attack one of the most difficult problems in current history and that is the rise of the Muslims, and make no mistake about it, this hasn’t happened for a thousand years. These people are very dedicated and they’re also very very smart in their own way. We need to keep the feet to the fire and keep pressing these people until we defeat or chase them back to their caves or in other words get rid of them.”

On MSNBC this morning:

Senator John McCain:

“I think we all can appreciate why this is so important to America. Pakistan is our ally in our war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. I think you know that Pakistan is a nuclear armed state… I think you also know that there has been a lot of domestic upheaval going on in that country. And apparently it was proceeding to a situation where Musharraf would step down as the leader of the military and was running for president. He very likely was going to succeed there, and Benazir Bhutto was probably going to be the prime minister. An uneasy relationship between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf.”

“It probably would have been a different situation, but the democratic process would have moved forward. Her opponent, an individual named Sharif, is probably a person that has a history in Pakistan that, at least in my person opinion was not the most admirable.”

“I don’t know all the circumstances surrounding her death and it’s not really important right now except that it was a great tragedy. And, of course, whenever something like this happens you figure out who are the winners and losers.”

“Right now there is significant unrest in Pakistan as we speak. There are people who are blaming Musharraf for it. That’s why I say, ‘who are the winners and losers?’ It seems to me that the winners are the radical Islamic extremists. Benazir Bhutto had dedicated herself and had said on several occasions that she would fight a battle against jihadists and radical Islamic extremists. And she promised the people of Pakistan that.
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After some Internet speculation over Rudy Giuliani’s recent hospital visit the former mayor has now publicly stated he is “cancer free” while handing out Christmas presents for “Hale House” in Harlem. Prostate cancer put an end to his 2000 run for the New York State Senate, which would have pitted him against now Senator Hillary Clinton, and after a sudden and mysterious stay at a hospital this week because of what the campaign described as both the flu and a bad headache.

Giuliani did get tested about three weeks ago for signs of prostate cancer but say the results had him at “zero or negligible”.