On this early morning of the Thanksgiving holiday, let us give thanks for the political rumor mill. The rumor mill this week has been deliciously bountiful, having churned out a beaut from the Empire State.

Consider this bit of 2010 speculation an early feast for political junkies: a Democratic Senator in a blue state. Getting primaried. From the right. By a former Congressman and statewide candidate. From the South.

Kirsten Gillibrand, meet (?) Harold Ford Jr.

Democratic sources say that former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr. -- who relocated to New York City after his unsuccessful Senate bid in 2006 -- has been talking about the possibility of running against vulnerable rookie New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Ford, who was mentioned as a possible appointee to replace Hillary Clinton in late 2007, has reportedly told associates that he's skeptical about the idea. But he may have commissioned a poll to test his popularity, according to a Tuesday night post on DemocraticUnderground.com.

The comment at DU about the "testing the waters" poll is the most "rumor-y" part of the story, but that would, if true, suggest that either Ford or someone in his circle is serious enough about the idea to put some money down on it.

Ford, while somewhat ensconced in a new post-candidate life (he is recently married and is working as an executive for Merrill Lynch), has not completely parted ways with the political arena. He has remained as the head of the DLC, and was oft-rumored to be considering a bid for Governor in his home state of Tennessee in 2010. He does have some credibility in beltway circles (including a stint as a political analyst for NBC/MSNBC) and he raised a formidable warchest of over $15 million when he ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate in Tennessee in 2006.

That said, it is not hard to imagine why Ford is skeptical about making such a race. Democratic primary challenges from the right in a state like New York are hardly an expressway to political success, to be sure. In some ways, it might well be to Gillibrand's benefit to get primaried from her right credibly. A Gillibrand-Ford matchup would certainly shore up her bonafides with the Democratic base, some of which have not warmed to her since her appointment. It will also do wonders for enhancing her statewide name recognition, which is still flagging.

In the final analysis, it makes for great speculation, but a Gillibrand-Ford race just does not feel like a legitimate possibility. Ford is a lot of things, but he is not dumb. I can't imagine a 39 year-old politico ending his career on a longshot primary bid where the chances of success are modest (and that is being generous).

Meanwhile, we are now nearly a week removed from the "breaking story" that Rudy Giuliani was planning a 2010 bid for the US Senate. Days later, at least one New York media outlet thinks that Giuliani is leading the press corps on a little political snipe hunt:

Rudy Giuliani, the big scoop went, had decided to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand for her U.S. Senate seat next year and would announce his candidacy "in the next 48 hours."

120 hours later (and counting), the world is still waiting to hear from Rudy. And as the minutes, hours and days pass, the scoop is feeling more and more like a red herring.

The rumor, which was broken by three reporters for the NY Daily News last week, was that Giuliani was demurring from a gubernatorial bid (where recent polling has shown him trailing possible Democratic contender Andrew Cuomo) and instead deflecting his attentions to a Senate bid against appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The story went on to suggest that Giuliani would then use that race as a springboard to a 2012 Presidential bid.

Steve Kornacki's piece at the New York Observer casts some doubts on Giuliani's nascent Senate bid, and suggests that the NYT story about Giuliani begging off the gubernatorial race might have been the catalyst:

This is not how candidacies are launched. Had it been part of some grand roll-out strategy, last Thursday's leak would have been followed by some kind of public statement or appearance by Rudy. Instead, he's been silent and invisible while the momentum generated by the story has morphed into confusion.

The fact that he hasn't followed up on the news and the fact that his camp (such as it is these days) couldn't get its story straight suggests Rudy might have been pursuing a damage-control strategy last week. After all, the news about his Senate candidacy broke just two hours after The New York Times reported that Rudy had decided not to run for governor next year.

Recent polling in the race has been all over the map. On Tuesday, Zogby released an IVR poll (traditional sampling, not their interactive polls, which have typically garbage) which had Gillibrand and Giuliani in a toss-up, with Giuliani up by two. Rasmussen followed Wednesday, as Rasmussen has done often as of late, with a much more GOP-friendly outcome (Giuliani +13).