Washington, D.C. ? Can he do for the country what he did for his city? He might try.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a moderate Republican best known for his stewardship of the city after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has taken the first step in a 2008 presidential bid, GOP officials said Monday.

He filed papers to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee Inc., establishing a panel that would allow him to raise money for a White House run and travel the country.

Giuliani, who was in his final days as New York City mayor when a pair of planes crashed into the World Trade Center’s towers, became a national hero. Within hours of the attack, the mayor was visiting the site, caked in dust and walking through the chaos – a moment replayed repeatedly on television.