Goffstown – Republican Rudy Giuliani yesterday said social conservatives could accomplish most of their goals if they elect him president, despite his pro-choice position.

The former New York City mayor said he would appoint judges to the Supreme Court in the mold of Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas - all conservatives nominated by the three most recent Republican presidents.

"People who believe in strict constructionism will be satisfied by the appointments because that's what I'll be looking for," Giuliani said.

Giuliani, who spoke at a town hall meeting and news conference at St. Anselm College's Institute of Politics, touted his record of tax cuts, budget cuts, and welfare and crime rate reductions while mayor of New York City. One journalist, Giuliani proudly noted, said his city administration had been the most conservative one in the United States in the last 50 years.

He said the three leading Democratic presidential contenders could not bring about change because they did not have the necessary experience. The three frontrunners, he said, have never run a state, a city or a big business.

Giuliani pointed out that he had run both a business and a city, adding that New York was larger than some states in terms of population size and the number of government employees.

He reserved his harshest criticism for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. In addition to her fumbling of a debate question on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, he said he was disturbed by her refusal to answer a question about whether she would ever consider using military force against Iran.

"If you have trouble saying yes or no on the ultimate question, you know, about whether you would use military force in the event that Iran got themselves to a point of no return on becoming nuclear, I don't know what question, then, you are going to answer," Giuliani said.

Sanctions against Iran would only work, he added, if there was the promise that America was prepared to use military force, something he said he would do only as a last resort. "But do I think that you have to stand up and say, 'I would if I had to?'" Giuliani said. "I think the American people should demand that of the next president."

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As for a running mate, Giuliani said former Gov. Mike Huckabee was a possibility.

"The man's got a great sense of humor and he's got a good heart and he's a good man," Giuliani said. "Of course, he's going to be on everybody's list as a vice presidential candidate."

Giuliani said he had shown people that government could work in New York City by making realistic promises about what it can do effectively. Universal health care, he said, is an example of a harmful government mandate.

"Every time that happens, cost goes up, quality goes down," Giuliani said.

Instead, he said the health care system needs to head in the other direction: toward free markets and more choices for individuals.

Giuliani also linked his mayoral experience to the problem of border security.

"How do you end illegal immigration?" he said. "You end it at the border. Only place you can do it."

He said he would build a high-tech fence along the border that would detect illegal crossings through cameras and motion and heat sensors, sending out an alert to security patrols. A physical fence, he added, was necessary only in certain places, such as border cities.

Giuliani also said he would not replace about half of the government employees expected to retire in the next eight to 10 years, similar to the 5 to 20 percent annual budget cuts he enforced in New York City. Such cuts, he said, bring fiscal discipline to government.