Was the 140-page document outlining the potential presidential campaign strategy of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani lost or stolen?

Either way, one thing’s for sure: it’s not good!

The leaked memo is the scandal of the day, according to CBS News, which quotes a Giuliani spokeswoman as saying the campaign outline was stolen from an aide’s suitcase last fall, photocopied, and then put back to the aide’s suitcase.

Wow. If that’s not a classic case of political backstabbing, what is?

“This is clearly a dirty trick,” Sunny Mindel said. “The voters are sick and tired of this kind of thing.”

The document was obtained to the New York Daily News, which published a story about the Giuliani plan on Tuesday. The newspaper said it obtained the document from a source sympathetic to one of Giuliani’s presidential rivals.

The source said the plan had been left behind in one of the cities where Giuliani campaigned for GOP candidates prior to the November elections.

The blueprint includes a plan to raise at least $100 million in funds in 2007, receiving support of major GOP donors like Lew Eisenberg and Larry Bathgate, both from New Jersey, and Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx. Those three are already supporting Sen. John McCain’s bid for the White House.

The document also predicts $100 million could be spent against Giuliani to highlight political vulnerabilities like his three marriages, his support for disgraced former aide Bernard Kerik, and a moderate stance on social issues such as abortion, gun control and gay rights.

Mitt Romney is loving this right now.

Mindel downplayed the importance of the plan, saying it was simply ideas jotted down on paper over three months ago. But an adviser to McCain was quick to point out the embarrassment losing such a document might produce.

“I’m surprised that something like that would ever leave the custody of a campaign, and that such raw and frank information would be around the countryside,” John Weaver told the New York Times.

After stepping down as mayor of New York shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Giuliani built a thriving business as a security consultant.

He is a hugely popular fundraiser for his party, due in large part to his overwhelmingly positive response to the attacks. He has even been dubbed “America’s Mayor” by many conservatives and leads McCain in most polls.

Giuliani declined comment on whether he will seek a criminal investigation into the alleged theft of the campaign memo.