Replies

If you attack Rudy on 9/11 - you strength him and his chances in the general election.
Rudy wins whenever 9/11 is the issue - PLAIN and SIMPLE

You're right if a politician attacks him. When the heroes of 9-11 come out against him that's a whole new ball game. The firefighters are more popular than he is and have more credibility on the subject of what happened on 9-11. Just like the Swift Boat Vets were able to attack the decorated "war hero" Kerry but politicians couldn't. The firefighters will be very effective if they get the press the Swift Boat Vets got.

This is different than what the Swift Boat Vets were able to do. There was no record on Kerry until the vets told their story; that's quite a bit different than the case with Giuliani. Sure, you can challenge him on what actually went on behind the scenes, but for millions of people on 9/11, they know exactly what they saw.

Furthermore, many of the firefighters' gripes are things about which Giuliani really had no control. The common complaint right now is that he sent firefighters in to unsafe conditions during the rescue and recovery. But honestly, he's screwed either way on that one. If he called off the rescue a day after the collapse for health reasons, you'd have fewer firefighters complaining but a hell of a lot more families who never found their loved ones.

I'm not a die hard Rudy supporter - my preferred candidate hasn't yet entered the race. But I think it's a little irresponsible for so many people here on FR to jump on the anti-Rudy bandwagon just because someone else's cause happens to further their goals. I know where FR stood in the whole Coulter-9/11 Widows debate, and it would be my guess right now that quite a few people here would be giving the widows a second look just because it seeks to tarnish the Giuliani campaign.

One of the few decent memories of 9/11 was being able to see Rudy on the ground in NYC. You can argue about what he actually did, but it's a fact that he provided leadership during a time when the President was being shuffled from base to base, away from constant contact with the public. For many hours, he was the man out front. We seem all too willing to wipe that memory away in the name of getting a conservative through the Republican presidential primary.