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A Fortnight Before Elections, Paper of Record Endorses Gov. Corzine
October 19, 2009 1:26 p.m. EST
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Concord, NJ (AHN) - The New York Times has given a sobering endorsement for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, citing the Democrat's failings such as using much his personal wealth for "juvenile" attacks on rivals but calling him the "better choice" among either former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, the GOP nominee, and independent candidate Chris Daggett.
The first-term governor is running neck-and-neck with Christie with only two weeks to go voters cast their ballots. Latest polls have the Republican ahead, but his lead falls within the margin of error. Dagget has also made significant gains, getting praise from both the Times and the Wall Street Journal, and receiving the endorsement of the Star-Ledger, the Garden State's biggest newspaper.
Corzine has faced an uphill re-election bid despite the full support of the White House and ethics controversies hounding Christie. Now with pundits and polls citing Dagget's momentum hurting the Republican, he has caught up and closed his year-long deficit. The question is if he can build on this slight surge to gain a narrow victory on Nov. 3.
In its endorsement of Corzine, the Times made clear the governor "still has lessons to learn about communication and leadership [but] has earned another four years to deal with the state's budget problems and culture of corruption."
"He inherited corruption that is legendary and a budget that his predecessors, Democratic and Republican, had milked nearly dry," the paper said. "Governor Corzine took some difficult steps, like his smart but unpopular plan to increase highway tolls. He shut down the state government when lawmakers refused to back his extra-lean budget. He has managed to increase the contributions to the underfunded pension plan. And he has begun the hard task of reforming state government by limiting some perks for state workers."
"Mr. Corzine is hardly the perfect politician," it added. "Most New Jersey voters find him astonishingly inarticulate, and his credentials as a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs do not seem as impressive as they did before the financial meltdown in 2008. He has poured lots of his personal wealth into this race, far too much of it for biting - and sometimes juvenile - attacks on Mr. Christie. In his second term, we would like to see him back away from the state's unions."
But the editorial board of the Home News Tribune and Courier News newspapers argued, "Another four years of Corzine as governor is about the worst thing that could happen to New Jersey.
"Corzine's record is clear, and as a result he shouldn't even be in the discussion as a gubernatorial preference," the board said, lending its support to Christie. "His first term in office has been a total failure. Taxes have continued to skyrocket, and any attempts at spending reforms have been minimal and to negligible effect."
The board also warned, "Daggett's presence is giving Democrats disenchanted with the party or Corzine himself a safe ballot haven that creates the illusion of opposition without being forced into the Republican column. That means Christie could lose his fair share of anti-Corzine votes, opening the door to a re-election that seemed so unlikely a few months ago."
Corzine has spent $16.8 million for his campaign, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, compared to Christie's $5.4 million. The 62-year-old governor has had President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on the trail for him, with Biden headlining another rally on Monday, yet has failed to gain the enthusiastic support of member of his own party nor turn around approval and favorable ratings that have hovered below the 40 percent mark nearly all year.
His recent ridiculing of his GOP rival for being overweight and the extension his foundation is seeking for disclsoing political contributions has not helped his campaign.
Christie, on the other hand, has seen his once formidable seven-year record as a prosecutor tarnished by allegations that while during his term, a political associate who was charged in a $17.5 million tax fraud case, Morris County developer Morton Salkind, had entered an unusual plea agreement that required no prison time and dismissed all charges except one count of tax evasion.
A former top aide, Michele Brown, also resigned in August as First Assistant U.S. Attorney amid controversy over $46,000 he loaned her. The amount, a 10-year mortgage loan that Brown is paying in monthly installments with interest, was not part of Christie's financial disclosure forms as a candidate or an official.
Copyright © 2003 - 2009 AHN - All rights reserved.Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.License AHN news for your website, business, digital signage network or publication.
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