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Posted on Thu, Feb. 19, 2004
Bloomberg counters Edwards belief GOP will exploit 9/11
BY MAGGIE HABERMAN
New York Daily News
NEW YORK - (KRT) - John Edwards came to New York looking for votes Thursday, but his famous Southern charm was lost on Mayor Bloomberg.
The North Carolina senator quickly drew Hizzoner's ire when he accused Republicans of planning to exploit the 9/11 attacks at their convention this summer.
"George Bush and his team, they think they're gonna be able to exploit this tragedy right here at this convention for a few days," the Democrat told an Ivy League audience in a morning speech at Columbia University.
And when Edwards also drawled off a list of statistics suggesting the city's economy is flat-lining, Bloomberg shot back.
"Preposterous," said the mayor, a Republican.
"I guess he just hasn't been here," Bloomberg lectured at a Washington Heights stop. "We'd love to have him come here and spend some money, and see just what goes on in the streets of New York, where crime is down, welfare rolls are down, jobs are coming in."
The dispute erupted as Edwards, capitalizing on his surprise showing against front-runner John Kerry Tuesday in Wisconsin, launched a five-day jaunt in New York, where Democrats vote March 2 in the Super Tuesday primaries.
Talking about the Republicans' choice of New York for their convention, Edwards said: "They come back when it's convenient." He accused Washington of short-shrifting rebuilding efforts here, adding: "We're with you every day, fighting with you every day."
Bloomberg sharply countered Edwards' convention slam.
"He should talk to Terry McAuliffe," Bloomberg said.
McAuliffe, the Democratic National Committee chairman, wanted New York for his party's convention on an "exclusive" basis, Bloomberg said. But when the mayor refused to lock out the Republicans, the Democrats chose Boston, Kerry's hometown.
Bloomberg also dismissed the suggestion that Republicans want to exploit the terrorist murders.
"I don't think that either party . . . if they have their convention here, is trying to exploit 9/11," Bloomberg said. "We paid a terrible price for democracy, and that will always be part of our history and our culture."
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant, called Edwards' 9/11 reference a misfire. The tragedy "is too blistering a memory, and it appears to be almost unpatriotic," he said.
Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush-Cheney reelection team, ripped Edwards for "playing politics with a great national tragedy."
But the Kerry camp mostly agreed with Edwards: "George Bush and (political adviser) Karl Rove have made no secret of the fact that they intend to use the tragedy of 9/11 to make national security the centerpiece issue of the election," a spokesman said.
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With Lisa L. Colangelo
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© 2004, New York Daily News.
Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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