Rudy Comes Clean

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

It must be tough for Mr. 9/11 to be forced to admit that 9/11 happened. And even under Bush, no less. But that’s what Rudy had to do this afternoon on CNN. See video of the crow-fest here.

The funny thing about this is that Rudy didn’t just suggest that 9/11 didn’t happen or didn’t happen under President Bush. He said that no other terrorist incidents like the Xmas Shoe Bomber case happened on President Bush’s watch, which is clearly preposterous since the Richard Reid “shoe bomber” case happened shortly after 9/11, as did the never solved Anthrax case and arguably a few others.

The thing about President Bush is that whatever other damage he did — and I’d say there was quite a bit — no other catastrophic terrorist event happened on his watch after 9/11. Whether that was because of his actions or whether another president would have done just as well is speculation and conjecture. But the buck stops with the president. And that’s a reality you cannot take away from him. Rudy manages to besmirch this honorable accomplishment with his outlandish nonsense.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: