9/11 politics roil 2008 White House race

WASHINGTON: Raw memories of the September 11 attacks rattled the 2008 White House race on Wednesday, as US firefighters rapped Republican pacesetter Rudolph Giuliani, but greeted Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton as a heroine.   

Horrific images of the 2001 terror strikes may be fading, but firefighters, who lost more than 340 comrades in the World Trade Center inferno, showed the disaster retains potent political power at a presidential candidates' forum here.   

Giuliani, leading the Republican field in a campaign built on his role as New York mayor in 2001, is accused by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) union of "egregious" treatment of fallen comrades.   

Clinton meanwhile, made a forceful pitch for the powerful union's key endorsement, vowing to "take care of the people who take care of us."

"We have stood together in good times and bad times, we have stood together when it seems as though the darkness would never end, and when we finally saw the light," the New York Senator said in a speech punctuated by standing ovations.   

The IAAF is still seething at Giuliani, accusing him of cutting the number of crews searching for human remains in November 2001, at Ground Zero, the site of the charred twin towers.   

"I find it a little bit incredible that in some ways the foundation of his very candidacy is on the back of 9/11, and I believe that as a pretty shaky foundation once some of the truth emerges," said IAFF President Harold Schaitberger.   

The IAFF did invite Giuliani to join 10 other presidential candidates of both parties at the forum, but was told the former mayor had scheduling conflicts.   

In a letter to IAFF members, Schaitberger said however that Giulani had shown a "disgraceful lack of respect" for fallen firefighters.   

"Mayor Giuliani's actions meant firefighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like so much garbage."   

Giuliani told reporters on Monday firefighters were his heroes, and suggested the union had political agendas different than his own.   

"It does nothing for my bond with firefighters, or what I would do for them if I were president of the United States," he said.   

Clinton meanwhile used her speech to implicitly draw comparisons with Giuliani and recalled being at the World Trade Center site and seeing firemen come staggering out of clouds of soot, trailing their axes.   

She said firefighters were "invisible" to President George W. Bush and accused him of using them for post-September 11 photo-ops, but failing to fund new equipment.   

"You are not invisible to me. When we take back the White House, you will no longer be invisible to the president of the United States," she said.   

"When I am in the White House, I am going to be there for you whenever you need me and whatever you need me for," Clinton said to huge cheers.   

Clinton's two top rivals for the Democratic nomination former senator John Edwards and Senator Barack Obama also wooed the key union.   

"It is a noble calling what you do," said Obama, but said Washington's political leaders did not honor their service.   

"They cheer you on when you race up the stairs. But when it's time for you to get health care or buy the radios and equipment you need, those supporters disappear like a puff of smoke."   

Other candidates at the forum included Republican Senator John McCain, Democratic Senator Joseph Biden and New Mexico Democrat Bill Richardson.