Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose New York Post newspaper lambasted ex-President Bill Clinton during his impeachment, on Wednesday praised New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as an effective leader.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) discusses the negative impact of the Bush/Enzi health bill and women's access to contraception and abortion prevention efforts while at a news conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, May 10, 2006. [Reuters]

Murdoch, whose News Corp conglomerate is also home to the Fox News cable channel, also confirmed he would host a fund-raiser to support her re-election bid in November.

The planned event signals a dramatic shift in his public stance toward the former first lady, who is widely expected to make a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

"It will be pretty modest support and it's giving the opportunity for people in our office who want to join us at a breakfast and to hear her," Murdoch said of the $1,000-per-plate fund-raiser.

"We think that she has been effective on state issues and local issues here in New York," he said during a conference call to discuss News Corp earnings. "This is not a $1 million (fund) raising, and has got nothing to do with anything other than her Senate re-election."

Clinton once blamed a "vast right-wing conspiracy" for attacking her husband. Murdoch's newspaper and television outlets were highly critical of Clinton's first Senate campaign in 2000 and of her husband's 1993-2001 tenure in the White House.

The senator has sought to expand her appeal with a tough stance on security and defense issues, and is expected to win re-election.

Bill Clinton has also been working with Murdoch recently, having him appear at a Global Initiative summit of business and political leaders launched last fall.