by Jonathan David Morris

I like how people think Rudy Giuliani won the second Republican presidential debate. I guess that depends on your definition of �won.� To me, he only won it if the idea was to look like a fool.

After hearing Ron Paul explain the CIA�s concept of blowback�the idea that American foreign policy stirred up the hate that inspired 9/11�Rudy took a stern look and quickly responded: �That�s an extraordinary statement� that we invited [9/11]. I don�t think I�ve heard that before, and I�ve heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th.�

The studio audience applauded this comment. Unfortunately, what these hand-clapping dullards failed to ask was: Really? You�ve never heard that before? Aren�t you the same guy who turned down a relief check from a Saudi prince who suggested the same thing?

They also failed to ask, in the midst of all their skin-on-skin noise-making, whether Rudy Giuliani has read the Official 9/11 Commission Report. The Commission said the same thing Ron Paul said. Maybe Rudy didn�t read it, because he was there.

I�m not saying Giuliani�s a liar. I�m sure he honestly thinks he�s never heard the blowback theory of 9/11 before. But since we know that�s not true, that means he�s heard it and decided to forget it. In one ear, out the other. The facts weren�t worth entertaining.

I can�t help but wonder if this is the kind of guy we want running our country. It�s hard to believe there are still people in 2007 who believe 9/11 happened in a vacuum. But it�s even harder to believe there are presidential candidates who believe that.

Do you really think Usama bin Laden woke up one morning, learned we were free, and realized he had to attack us? This idea isn�t just wrong. It�s the founding delusion of post-9/11 American foreign policy. It�s the same wayward thinking that led us into Iraq for fictional weapons with a fairytale quest of setting the whole region free. We�ve seen how that war is going. We�ve seen how the Arabs don�t want us there. If you can�t put two and two together, you�re too dumb to be our next president.

Of course, I don�t think Giuliani is dumb. I just think he knew what he was doing. Accusing Ron Paul of saying we �invited� September 11th was a sly way of accusing him of saying we deserved it�which, itself, was a sly way of letting our corrupt, bumbling federal government off the hook.

The truth is, no country deserves a hit like 9/11. And just because our foreign policy set the stage for those attacks doesn�t mean they were justified or that the terrorists were good guys. All it means is we have nothing to gain and everything to lose wasting precious time, money, and resources in a region of mentally unbalanced people.

Rudy Giuliani told Ron Paul to �withdraw� his remarks because the former mayor doesn�t want you to consider this viewpoint. He wants the last six years of delusional war planning to continue.

You tell me which candidate is absurd here. Giuliani says it�s Paul; I say it�s Giuliani.

Jonathan David Morris is a political writer -- and sometimes satirist -- based in Pennsylvania. A strong believer in small government, JDM often takes aim at oppressive taxes, entitlements, and laws, writing about incompetence at the highest levels of culture and government. Catch his weekly ramblings at readjdm.com.