Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. is back to his old job as a television commentator just one day after he announced he would not run for U.S. Senate. Josh Robin reports Ford doesn't seem to be ready to support a Senate candidate just yet.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- In a twist, the day after Harold Ford Jr. abandoned his possible race for Senate, he was still attacking the Democratic Party's expected candidate, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

"I can assure you, voters don't know the junior Senator, they can't name a single positive outcome from her. Which means one simple thing, she will be labeled for the failures of Washington, the failures of Albany," Ford said on MSNBC on Tuesday.

Ford gives no quick endorsement of Gillibrand, nor are there plans for one. The senator said they have not talked.

"You know, at the end of the day, I'm going to keep doing my job and what my job is to fight for all New Yorkers," Gillibrand said.

"I'm not surprised that he's continuing to take potshots at her, and no, it's not helpful," said Democratic political analyst Dan Gerstein. "How harmful it will be, I think that it will continue to provide a distraction for Senator Gillibrand, which she can't really afford in this climate."

Gillibrand now faces token opposition in the Democratic primary, but already the political scene is looking to the general election, and Ford's exit might usher in more Republican challengers running on pocketbook issues. Businessman Bruce Blakeman is already in, and another name floated is New York Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman, seen right.

Late Tuesday, Zuckerman's spokesman said the publisher would not be a candidate under any circumstances, citing personal and professional reasons

"This is a guy who knows the media as well as anyone, and I don't think that he would let those rumors out there, as savvy as he is, if he didn't want those rumors to be out there," says Gerstein.

Ford declined an interview request on Tuesday, but elsewhere, he railed against Democratic Party orthodoxy and state leaders who tried to get him out of the race.

"Senator Schumer and other leaders across the state certainly made their case very clear," said Ford.

One item where Ford and Gillibrand agree, criticism notwithstanding, is that the pseudo-race may have benefited her.

"Most people don't know her. Most people can't name a single positive outcome she participated in, in Washington. So in many ways, this helped her get name out even more," said Ford.

"Well, I certainly think you could say there's been more attention to the race, and that's always a good thing for any candidate," said Gillibrand.

In the immediate future, Ford is going back to being a television commentator.