BRETTON WOODS, N.H. (AP) – Mayor Guiliani’s visit to New Hampshire began Friday as he repeatedly returned to memories of Sept. 11 and joked that he might return to the presidential battleground to “do some politics.”

Mr. Giuliani, a Republican who is mulling a White House run, renewed his mantle, “America’s Mayor” and reminded business leaders in New Hampshire’s North Country that he shepherded New York through the aftermath of Sept. 11. Over 400 people attended the event at the Mount Washington Hotel, organizers said.

“I kept thinking, it was my job to lift my eyes up and get everyone else’s’ eyes lifted up, and look toward the future,” Mr. Giuliani said. “I kept thinking, people who live in freedom, like we do, even if seem crushed for a while, have much more strength than those who live in oppression.”

Throughout his remarks, he repeatedly returned to Sept. 11, even when mentioning immigration reform. His speech didn’t address his moderate social stances on abortion and gay marriage that could prove difficult in a crowded primary battle – and the audience didn’t force it.

“That doesn’t matter,” said Jan Mercieri of Littleton, who wanted the former mayor to sign a coffee-table book about Sept.

Mercieri, who describes herself as an independent, said she would vote for Mr. Giuliani “any day of the week.” Sept. 11, she said, was a defining moment and Mr. Giuliani should be rewarded.

Mr. Giuliani resisted openings to attack Democrats.

“I’m optimistic the Democratic Congress and President Bush will figure out how to do things together. It looks like on Iraq, we’re not off to a good start. … You can have a different view on Iraq and that doesn’t make you better or worse than me.”

Mr. Giuliani didn’t delve too deeply into the unpopular war. In chatting with reporters, he tied it to the larger war on terrorism – and linked it to his time in New York City.

“The war in Iraq is very important,” Mr. Giuliani said. “It’s very important it go correctly. “The war on terror is much broader than the war in Iraq.”

Mr. Giuliani hasn’t said whether he will run, but his comments Friday night suggested he’s considering it.

Mr. Giuliani joked he might return to New Hampshire to golf and “maybe we’ll come back and do some politics, too.”

He said he hasn’t decided to run. “That may turn out to be more up to you than me,” he said.