Giuliani child draws attention as Obama supporter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's teen-age daughter found herself under the harsh media spotlight of national politics on Monday after word circulated that she might support Democrat Barack Obama.

The online magazine Slate.com reported that Caroline Giuliani, 17, listed herself as a "liberal" in her profile on the social networking Web site, Facebook.com, and declared herself a member of the Facebook group called: "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)."

Obama, an Illinois senator, is one of the leading Democratic candidates for the White House.

A spokeswoman for Caroline Giuliani said the teen-ager's Facebook listing was intended as an expression of interest in "certain principles" but not an indication of support in a presidential campaign.

But when word spread that the daughter of the former New York mayor and leading Republican presidential candidate could be backing a Democrat, the story began to attract other media outlets including the New York Times, CBS and CNN.

Slate.com said the teen-ager's profile page on the social networking Web site had been available only to Facebook members who attend her Manhattan high school or Harvard University, where she plans to study this fall.

The teen-ager quickly quit the Obama fan club and took down her profile page on Facebook.

Giuliani, who was campaigning in Iowa, declined to comment as did the Obama campaign.