EXETER – Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani yesterday said preparedness will be key for all crises, even an attack from outer space.

During a town hall meeting in Exeter, a young questioner asked the former New York mayor about his plan to protect Earth.

"If (there's) something living on another planet and it's bad and it comes over here, what would you do?" the boy asked.

Giuliani, grin on his face, said it was the first time he's been asked about an intergalactic attack.

"Of all the things that can happen in this world, we'll be prepared for that, yes we will. We'll be prepared for anything that happens," said Giuliani, who spent the day campaigning in the key early voting state.

Being prepared is a theme that runs through the campaign of Giuliani, the mayor during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

The boy's question let Giuliani take a lighthearted turn as he wrapped up his answer on emergency preparedness.

"This could be the new Steven Spielberg," he said. "You want to be a science fiction writer or a scientist?"

The boy replied he wants to be a sculptor.

Then Giuliani asked the audience for another question: "Shall we take one question about this planet?"

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