Play It Again, Rudy

Former Firefighters union President Jimmy Boyle last month contended that some families of firefighters who died on 9/11 had been "over the top" in their criticism of Rudy Giuliani as he campaigns for the Republican nomination for President. He maintained that they were blaming the former Mayor for matters that were not his fault because they believed he was exploiting 9/11 for political gain.

But what is there to say about a candidate who permits supporters to hold a fund-raiser in which attendees are charged $9.11? A spokeswoman for Mr. Giuliani claimed that wasn't his idea. She said the same thing about a ballot initiative in California backed by his supporters that would change the winner-take-all nature of that state's vote for President so that the losing candidate could collect 20 or more votes in the Electoral College - enough perhaps to swing the election. The largest contribution toward that effort - $175,000 - came from a Rudy supporter and was made on - we kid you not - Sept. 11.

Do you believe in coincidence, or is this just plain tacky?