Trick Question About 9/12 Stumps Giuliani

GOP presidential frontrunner Rudolph Giuliani stumbled badly at a town hall meeting in Iowa last night when an audience member baffled him with a trick question about 9/12.

Mr. Giuliani, who has made references to 9/11 the foundation of his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, was "like a deer in the headlights" when the surprise question about 9/12 came his way, observers said.

The former New York mayor had been cruising through the town hall meeting up to that point, answering a wide range of questions about immigration, the economy, and global warming, all by referring to 9/11.

But the tone of the event changed abruptly when one audience member, Tracy Klujian of Cedar Rapids, asked the GOP frontrunner, "Can you name one thing that happened on September 12?"

Mr. Giuliani seemed taken aback by the question, clearing his throat and drinking from a glass of water as if to buy time before responding.

"That's a good question," Mr. Giuliani said. "September 12 happened one day after September 11 -- and we must never forget the lessons of September 11."

Mr. Giuliani's aides later said that their candidate had expertly parried a difficult question, but also offered excuses for Mr. Giuliani's apparent failure to refer to any other date besides September 11.

"The man has a lot of dates to keep track of," one aide told reporters. "For one thing, he's had three different wedding anniversaries."

Elsewhere, President Bush eulogized Washoe, the chimp who had a 250-word vocabulary, issuing this official statement: "Me miss Washoe. Me sad Washoe dead."

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com. He appears at the 92nd St. Y in NYC on Nov. 7 with Alec Baldwin, Arianna Huffington, and Mo Rocca. For tickets go to 92y.org.

Comments

[A Meat Beetle]

Wow, Rooty Poots is a mental giant. "9/12 happened one day after 9/11." His ability to arrange numbers sequentially puts him several notches above Bush on the intelligence scale. I'll bet he even has an occasional moment where he figures out how to use those opposable thumbs!

[ThomasDoubting]

I remember September 12th 2001, that was the day that the Corporate Media informed us that they already had a list of the hijackers. They told us that the list of 19 Saudis and others, along with a Koran, and a suicide note, were found in the luggage of Mohammad Atta. They also found instructions on how his body should be handled. While it was very convenient for those who promoted the official story, did he really need LUGGAGE, if he was on his way to see the seventy two virgins?
http://www.wanttoknow.info/911information

[poplicola]

And you mean to tell me that 48% of Republican Voters in New Jersey support this guy?

"That's a good question," Mr. Giuliani said. "September 12 happened one day after September 11 -- and we must never forget the lessons of September 11."
Give me a BREAK!

http://publicmind.fdu.edu/iraqlooms/

[NotGuilty]

Correction,

Electing JulieAnnie President would be going from tweedle-dum to tweedle-dumber.

[ljsfolly]

It is a very sad world when a chimp of low value has to speak "chimp" about one who has been so well learned. That another species could "learn" how to communicate with humans so well as Washoe did and for bush to not have is truly sad.

[Counterglow]

The problem with U.S. politics is that it's truly impossible to separate satire from reality. If you showed me footage of those Baptists mocking the funeral of a dead soldier, I'd have sworn up and down it was a Saturday Night Live skit that went too far.

[TXfemmom]

Biden is correct, all Guiliani has in his speech, in every sentence, is a noun, a verb, and 9/11.

Electing him President would be going from tweedle dee to tweedle dum.

[Plowboy]

One thing that happened on 9/12 is that our government seized all the evidence of 9/11 and destroyed it. Strange behavior for a crime scene. That's only one reason ffor all those conspiracy theories.
OK, so that isn't funny. But it is no joke either.

[Loonie]

Republicans - jokes that write themselves.

[foofighter]

Andy Borowitz is a satirist. The article is a joke. The events never happened.

Rudy is a major s--t but c'mon guys!!!

[psk]

Are you serious? He really said that? Really? No way.

I busted up laughing so hard it took me nearly 5 minutes to get back to reading the story.

I hope no one is honestly thinking of voting for this clown.

[aznurse]

Is this true? Did he really say that? I mean Rudy, not George. I hope to see a clip of it on Countdown.

[RevMetheus]

"The man has a lot of dates to keep track of," one aide told reporters. "For one thing, he's had three different wedding anniversaries."

Nice. Guiliani, in running for president of this country, gives a wholly inadequate response to a question and the only thing the can respond with is one liners?

I think we've moved beyond the lesser of two evils on this run up to the election, the front runners on both sides are barely palatable as leaders of a country.

[Sciguy]

Hmmm... what did happen on 9/12? Other than CNN continuing to cover the story over and over and over? Well, first I woke up, then I had a cup of coffee, then I took a shower and got dressed, then... Hey, even THAT would have been a better response than "it was one day after 9/11."

I must admit that Guiliani appeared to be a good leader during the days that followed 9/11 - he was available for the press, he was calm, etc. He did a better job at that than I could have done. However, I don't think that's enough to base a presidential campaign on.

As Jon Stewart (more or less) said, Giuliani has 9/11 Tourette's Syndrome. Such is life.

[stlrfan]

Trudy is absolutely pathetic. His handlers better get on the Bush method of controling rally attendees.