Giuliani: I Misspoke About Ground Zero

Republican presidential hopeful former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to supporters at a rally in Cincinnati, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman) (Tom Uhlman - AP)

"I think he was simply showing what his true character is _ a self-absorbed, self-deluded promoter who got caught and is now just simply trying to backtrack," Schaitberger said.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards offered his own criticism of the former mayor. "That's all we need is another person trying to exploit the tragedy of 9/11," Edwards said while campaigning in Las Vegas. "What he ought to be talking about instead is trying to explain why the firefighters and the first responders didn't have the equipment ... to get the job done."

A former deputy mayor, Joe Lhota, said the critics are politically motivated and wrong.

"They're taking their anger out in the wrong direction," Lhota said. "He was literally there four and five times a day; he did anything but run away.

"They're losing sight of the fact that this country, and this city, was attacked on that day by terrorists; it's their fault. Rudy Giuliani coordinated efforts in this city like no one had ever seen before."

Also Friday, Giuliani named another former deputy mayor, Rudy Washington, chairman of his campaign in New York City. Washington played a role in ground zero operations for weeks after Sept. 11 and received medical coverage for debilitating asthma and other health complications.

___

Associated Press writer Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.