Challenged Hero Claims
Some 9/11 Families Glad Giuliani's Out

By ARI PAUL

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's loss Jan. 29 in the Florida Republican presidential primary to Arizona Sen. John McCain marked the end of his run for the White House, and nothing could have made Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Riches happier.

JIM RICHES: 'Davids' helped topple Goliath.

Mr. Riches is a part of a group whose firefighter sons died on 9/11, and who blame Mr. Giuliani for not providing the department with working radios before the attacks and with respirators during the recovery work afterwards, leading to a high number of casualties.

'Saw Through Him'

"We feel good that people saw him for what he was," said Mr. Riches, adding that Mr. Giuliani built his campaign on being a hero during 9/11. "We feel we had an effect."

Retired Deputy Chief Alexander Santora, whose son Christopher died on 9/11, was with Mr. Riches in Florida. "I would hope to think that we had something to do with it," he said.

But the fight isn't over, he said, as it was still possible for Mr. Giuliani to run for Vice President or get appointed to a Cabinet-level position if a Republican is elected.

"Now we have to educate the rest of the Republicans," he said. "He is no friend to anybody. He is a detriment to the United States. This guy would make Bush look like the best President we've ever had."

Many of the firefighter families participated in a video produced by the International Association of Fire Fighters released in July urging firefighters nationwide not to vote for Mr. Giuliani. Mr. Riches went to New Hampshire to spread the message, and spent a week in Florida before the primary there. He spoke at a dinner in Jacksonville before 100 retired and active firefighters. The families protested Giuliani campaign events in Orlando.

"It was like a David and Goliath," Mr. Riches said.

He added that he will not endorse a candidate for President. The IAFF had backed Connecticut U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, who has since dropped out of the race. The two local IAFF affiliates have not indicated whether they will endorse a candidate.

Mr. Giuliani chose not to campaign heavily in New Hampshire and Iowa in early January, and instead banked on a big victory in Florida. After it didn't materialize, he dropped out of the race and backed the Republican Party frontrunner, Senator McCain.

'Strategic Mistakes'

"I think there were probably some strategic mistakes not entering the early primaries or caucuses," said Steven Brams, a professor of politics at New York University.

He said that voters have become increasingly uninterested in Mr. Giuliani's 9/11 record because there has not been a terrorist attack in the United States in the last six years, and they are more concerned with the economy and the war in Iraq.