"It's not a local issue, and I don't have anything to say," the nominal Republican responded on Sunday, when a reporter asked what he thought about Bush-bashing Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan.

Bloomberg's refusal to comment rubbed several local Gold Star families the wrong way.

Carmen Depompeis, whose brother, Pfc. Hernando Rios, was killed earlier this month in Baghdad, blasted Bloomberg for not having the courage to say where he stands. "[My brother] was born in Manhattan, he was raised in Queens, he was a local issue," Depompeis told Newsday.

Later in the day, Bloomberg sent out a fence-straddling email saying he respected "Cindy Sheehan's right to protest and grieve in any way she likes." He added that he's "acutely aware of the tragic sacrifices that are being made every day."

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