Nov 20, 2007 12:02 am US/Eastern
Giuliani Plays Up 9/11 Card In N.H. Ads
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Former New York mayor and GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani is
now formally -- and officially -- playing the Sept. 11 card in his
campaign bid.
Giuliani
is now calling himself "America's Mayor" and asking voters in Iowa and
New Hampshire to chew on his 9/11 record. His new campaign commercial
now airing in New Hampshire only obliquely refers to the fateful day in
American history, but his new mailing literature struts his 9/11
credentials front and center.
"After the worst attacks on U.S.
soil, Rudy Giuliani went to work after rebuilding New York City and
faith in America," boasts the mailing.
But not everyone is buying into it.
"I think that's a disgrace," says FDNY Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches.
Giuliani's
decision to play the 9/11 card came on the same day a group of 9/11
families and firefighters were in New Hampshire to argue that he didn't
do such a good job neither before nor after the attacks.
"He lied about the quality of air and didn't give us respirators," says Riches.
Former
police commissioner Howard Safir has a different view, one of the many
who believe Giuliani has a right to laud his efforts as mayor of New
York City that day.
"On 9/11 there was a horrific tragedy, one
of the worst attacks on this country. Somebody needed to step forward
and lead not only this city, but this nation, in a way that people
would say the terrorists aren't going to defeat us," says Safir.
Pundits say 9/11 cuts both ways for Giuliani.
"For
Rudy Giuliani, his greatest strength could also be his greatest
weakness," says Fernando Ferrer of Mercury Public Affairs. "It's his
biggest calling card to areas outside of New York where he was known,
but you take the good with the bad on that."
And in the battle
for terrorism credentials, Sen. John McCain scored a big get Monday.
His presidential campaign was endorsed by former New Jersey governor
Tom Kean, the head of the 9/11 Commission at ground zero.
While
Giuliani leads in most national polls, currently he's trailing former
Mass. governor Mitt Romney in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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