9/11: Never forget?

It’s hard to fathom, but Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani no longer wants to talk about 9/11 … sort of.

“Have a great Fourth of July,” Giuliani offered while shaking hands and small-talking diners at downtown’s Ambrosia Café last Thursday.

But later he urged: “I don’t want [the voters] just to look at September 11. I want them to look at my entire record as mayor.”

Considering the heat coming down on Giuliani from N.Y. firefighters, maybe it is best to forget 9/11.

Giuliani has yet to discuss why Manhattan residents were misled as to the toxic nature of the air during the months after 9/11. Over 2,000 Ground Zero firefighters have been treated for serious respiratory problems. Last month, former EPA administrator and Republican New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman testified in front of the U.S. Senate that Giuliani should have made 9/11 emergency workers wear respirators.

“Firefighters are very active politically,” noted California Democratic Party spokesman Roger Salazar. “They might call into question some of his credentials in terms of being America’s mayor.”