During a Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, Rudolph W. Giuliani asserted, "The reality is that I’m not running on what I did on Sept. 11."

Two days later, a crowd of nearly 1,000 filed into a ballroom here for a 9/11 Remembrance Luncheon. Graphic images of the exploding towers, dust-covered survivors and even a series of photos that showed someone leaping from a tower were flashed on two giant screens flanking the stage where Mr. Giuliani was about to speak.

"America must never forget the lessons of Sept. 11," Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, later told the crowd.