Specifically, he said he supports the 2003 federal law banning late-term abortions, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, and the Hyde Amendment that restricts federal funding for abortions.

Yet Giuliani also sought to downplay his differences with conservatives, calling social issues secondary to what he described as the two "overriding" issues in the presidential race.

"We have to be on the offense against terrorism," he said. "And we have to be on the offense to preserve our private economy."

Holding out defeat to the Democrats in next year's election, Giuliani pleaded for Republicans to adopt a "big tent" approach, permitting differing views on less important issues.

And he appealed to the audience to judge him for his overall record, especially as a leader and as a fiscal conservative, and not on a single issue.

Giuliani also asserted that his views on gay rights and gun control are not that different from conservatives.

He said he supported civil unions, but believed that marriage is reserved for the union of a man and a woman.

While he conceded he strictly applied gun laws in New York as mayor, he stressed that he had applied all laws strictly. And he praised a recent appellate court decision interpreting the Second Amendment to guarantee an individual's right to own a gun.

Abortion has turned into a perilous issue for Giuliani's campaign, popping up almost daily.

The New York Daily News reported Friday that priests at St. Patrick's Cathedral and a local parish where his second marriage was performed probably would bar him from communion for backing abortion.

His support for abortion on a 1997 mayoral-race questionnaire also surfaced.

Giuliani's gamble is that he can become the first abortion supporter to win the nomination of a Republican Party that has been anti-abortion since the procedure was legalized in 1973.

Giuliani's decision to discuss his controversial views won admiration, but not necessarily support, from several audience members.

The university's board chairman, Jack Carlson, and his wife, Karen, said Giuliani's forthright speech and support for the war in Iraq had earned him another look. But they said it was too early to commit to a candidate.