Paul Krugman Says Former President George W. Bush & Rudy Giuliani "Fake Heroes of 9/11 Rushing to Cash In" on Terrorist Attacks

Paul Krugman pens scathing column, "The Years of Shame," calling former President George W. Bush and former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani "fake heroes" of 9/11 terror attacks, who rushed to "cash in on the horror."

Paul Krugman "Years of Shame" after 9/11

Paul Krugman wrote a scathing column, "The Years of Shame," criticizing former President George W. Bush & former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, "fake heroes" of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He claims both men "rushed to cash in on the horror." I wouldn't say both men rushed to cash in on what was one of the worst days in America's history but I do think that the love-affair people developed with Rudy Giuliani, calling him "America's mayor" was misguided at best. Any other mayor in a similar position would have reacted the same way. That was a part of his job. He couldn't run and hide. He had to be visible.

The Years of Shame

Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued?

Actually, I don’t think it’s me, and it’s not really that odd.

What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not — was deeply shameful. Te atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neocons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons.

A lot of other people behaved badly. How many of our professional pundits — people who should have understood very well what was happening — took the easy way out, turning a blind eye to the corruption and lending their support to the hijacking of the atrocity?

The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.

I’m not going to allow comments on this post, for obvious reasons. Source: NY Times

This isn't the time to point fingers at who cashed in and who didn't. Many innocent lives were lost at the hands of people who wanted to hurt us in the worse way. This isn't an occasion for shame, but to be proud of all those first responders who died doing their jobs. It is an occasion to be proud of those passengers who  stopped the terrorists from carrying out their plans by downing that plane in Pennsylvania. Paul Krugman has clearly missed the mark in his commentary on those "fake heroes" of 9/11. My maternal grandmother always said, if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything. Mr. Krugman, that applies to you as well.

Don't get me wrong, I know the Republicans, including President Bush and VP Dick Cheney, rammed down  our throats the events of 9/11 and tricked many who would have voted for John Kerry to vote for their party out of fear of another terrorist attack. Bush and his team used the events as political capital leading up to the 2004 elections. They also used fear-mongering to fight an unnecessary war in Iraq, with no end in sight years later. The same fear-mongering was used to force Americans to support President Bush's largely unpopular agenda, that has left this country mired in debt and a hot mess. Yes, I do agree that the Republicans have used 9/11 as a fear-mongering tool, but can we just have one day to commemorate the lost lives and honor the victims and survivors alike?