ALBANY – Governor Pataki yesterday brushed off the suggestion that he is too liberal a Republican to win a national election and said he has not ruled out running for the presidency in 2008.

The three-term governor, who is under pressure to make a decision on seeking re-election, said he owes it to his party and to the people of New York to do so by the end of this summer.

“I don’t want to leave the party hanging,” Mr. Pataki said. “I don’t want to leave the people of the state hanging, so I will make a decision within the next few months.”

During a rare sit-down lunch with more than two dozen reporters at a simple restaurant near the state Capitol yesterday, the governor spoke only in broad and mostly predictable terms about his political future. He was joined by four staff members as he answered a half-hour of questions before the tape recorders were turned off.

The governor allied himself with President Bush by citing efforts he made to help the president win the 2000 Republican primary in New York even as Senator McCain was building momentum in other Northeastern states.

He said he speaks with Mr. Bush “about a great many things,” including “political futures.” Mr. Pataki, who was rumored to be in the running for a federal appointment, would not say whether the president has offered him a job. “I don’t want to get into that,” he said.

The purpose of the lunch, possibly the first of its kind in Mr. Pataki’s 10 years as governor, was not clear. His staff contacted reporters Monday to say he would be in Albany and that he wanted to take them out to lunch. Reporters were told they would have 10 minutes to ask questions. Mr. Pataki permitted three times that.

The most pressing political question, aside from Mr. Pataki’s future, related to reports this week that the former governor of Massachusetts, William Weld, is mulling a run for governor of New York in 2006. Mr. Weld told The New York Sun yesterday that the biggest obstacle to his running would be his business interests.

“I would say the most serious blocker is nothing political, it’s simply business,” Mr. Weld said in a phone interview. “I do think I’ve got another race in me at some point, and I certainly don’t feel like a carpetbagger in New York State. If I’m in the midst of projects that are sensitive and highly important to the company, that would be a factor.”

Mr. Pataki addressed a range of issues with typical equivocation. He said he has been in touch with national Republicans about his future, but will not be swayed by their advice.

He described Mr. Weld as a “very bright, talented person,” but noted that “there are others out there as well, if I choose not to run.”

He acknowledged that his political operatives have been in Iowa, but brushed off their work with a laugh. “It’s spring,” he said. “They’re trying to get some tips on how to better grow corn and hay.”

He acknowledged the popularity of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is running for governor as a Democrat, before adding: “Anyone can be beaten.” Asked about the positive things his mentor, Senator D’Amato, has been saying about Mr. Spitzer, the governor said: “That doesn’t trouble me at all. We’re far away from the election, and a lot will change between now and then.”

Mr. Pataki, who ordered a blackened chicken wrap (not on the menu), was more forthright on what many believe is the biggest obstacle to a national victory: his Republican bona fides.

“The fundamental philosophical question is looking to empower people as opposed to empowering government,” Mr. Pataki said. “That is always been what has driven me. And whether it is lower taxes, holding people responsible for criminal acts, having confidence in our country’s ability and right to defend itself against those who would attack us or threaten our interests – I think there are many overriding issues that unite Republicans.”