The controversy over Rudy's claim that he's spent as much or more time at Ground Zero as "most" of the recovery workers has ballooned into a full-fledged campaign issue, with the Edwards and Rudy campaign now trading blows over the remarks.

As noted below, the Edwards campaign hammered Rudy today for the assertion, charging that Rudy's determined to "exploit the memory of 9/11 for political gain."

Now Giuliani campaign spokesperson Katie Levinson has struck back:

"For John Edwards to lecture Rudy Giuliani about September 11 is laughable at best. This is, after all, the same guy who thinks the 'war on terror' is simply a bumper sticker," she said.

Nobody lectures Rudy about September 11, you see, because he owns it. In fact, he is September 11. He and the disaster have merged into one.

With regard to the Rudy campaign's dismissal of Edwards' repudiation of the "war on terror" phrase, perhaps it's worth recalling these Rudy remarks from back in March:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Thursday it was a mistake to coin the term "war on terror" because it allows enemies to redefine the United States incorrectly as a nation that prefers war...

Giuliani told a gathering of newspaper reporters that "America is seen as a country by too many that wants to have war, or exercises its power too much, pushes its weight around too much."...

"America is just the opposite kind of country," he said.

None of the other Dems, incidentally, has weighed in on Rudy's remarks today.