SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Rudy Giuliani, who sought to make the leap from New York mayor to the White House, bowed out of the Republican presidential contest Wednesday and endorsed front-runner and longtime friend John McCain.

“John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States,” Giuliani said. “He’s an American hero.”

Once the front-runner himself, Giuliani decided to abandon the race after a dismal performance in Tuesday’s Florida primary, a contest on which he had bet his political fortune. Instead, McCain won and Giuliani came in a distant third.

Giuliani recalled he had said in an earlier debate that McCain would be his choice for president if he were not running himself.

“If I’d endorsed anyone else, you would say I was flip-flopping,” he said, mentioning an oft-repeated criticism of McCain’s chief rival, Mitt Romney.