Tallon goes on to cite what many see as Giuliani's worst offense - his failure to provide basic, functioning equipment to the first responders who placed their lives on the line every day in New York City. This failure would prove deadly after the 9/11 attacks, when firefighters were unable to hear radio calls to evacuate the soon-to-collapse towers. "My brother had an antiquated radio in his hand on 9/11," she said. "That means he was deaf, dumb, and blind in that situation."

During these last weeks of the Florida campaign, these three and others like them have arrived to serve as a truth squad, mounting what's turned out to be a growing attack on Giuliani. They are marching to city halls, parading down Florida streets behind a giant inflatable rat marked with Rudy's name. "We're not telling anybody who to vote for," Regenhard told reporters. "We're telling you Rudy Giuliani is no hero of 9/11 ... Rudy Giuliani failed New York, and failed everyone in the World Trade Center."

..............and this:

The failure to provide first responders with basic, effective equipment has become an enormous and emotional issue for the families of firefighters who lost their lives that day. So, too, has the health of the rescue and recovery workers who labored on "the pile" - the remains of the Twin Towers - in the days and weeks after the attacks. Some 2,000 firefighters have to date been treated for serious respiratory problems, and a New York hospital found that 70% of the 10,000 recovery workers it screened had trouble breathing.

Evidence, much of it from negligence lawsuits filed by sick workers, indicates that Giuliani administration pressured workers to move forward quickly (the cleanup that was estimated to require 30 months was completed in nine). But it is also accused of failing to enforce safety requirements, and misrepresenting the dangers to health posed by the air quality at Ground Zero.