“Couldn’t have gone better for Jon Corzine”
“Christie failed to deliver.”
MSNBC’s First Read: “Last night’s 3-way NJ GOV debate probably couldn’t have gone better for Jon Corzine…”
Read more at msnbc.com
“Going into the first debate among New Jersey’s three gubernatorial candidates, analysts said the pressure was on Republican Chris Christie to explain to a voting public that’s willing to oust Gov. Jon Corzine exactly how he would trim the state’s budget. If that was the measure, Christie failed to deliver. And because of that, he now sounds like a man striving not only to unseat Corzine, but also to take the wind out of the sails of Independent Chris Daggett.”
Read more at philly.com
“If New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie thought he could coast to victory in November on the fact that he’s a big Bruce Springsteen fan, he got a reality check this week…The Christie campaign has been largely content-free. His campaign’s idea of a brilliant campaign idea is to tell the press that he’s attended 120 concerts of Mr. Springsteen, who may end up endorsing Mr. Corzine.”
Read more at wsj.com
“Mr. Corzine, an uneasy debater on his best nights, nonetheless left no attack unanswered. “When Mr. Christie doesn’t like the truth, he makes up his own version,” he said, saying that census data showed a rise in median income in 2008 and that he had restored property tax rebates for many people…But Mr. Daggett, in one of several barbs aimed at Mr. Christie, shot back: “It’s easy to criticize when you have no plan of your own. The tooth fairy’s not going to solve this problem.”
Read more at nytimes.com
“Corzine also kept Christie his crosshairs, accusing him of having no concrete plans to fix the state’s budget problems. He described the Republican’s plans as a “fantasy.” “Making tough decisions in a tough environment is what being governor is about,” Corzine said. “No plan is not what being a governor is about.” Daggett, too, claimed that Christie has not offered a serious plan to fix the state’s $8 billion deficit.”
“Mr. Christie has no plan. It’s a fantasy,” Corzine said, sounding his steady theme that the Republican has offered no substance on the stump. “Making tough decisions in a tough environment is what being a governor is about. “No plan is not what being a governor is about.”… Corzine went after Christie for being vague and holding himself to a standard of behavior more lenient than what he expects from others, including those he prosecuted as the state’s top federal prosecutor.
Read more at nj.com
Corzine on several occasions during the debate complimented Daggett “for having a plan” to curb property tax bills up $1,000 in four years on average, while disagreeing with the plan and simultaneously tagging Christie. “No plan is not what being a governor is all about,” the governor said early and repeated late in the direction of the former U.S. Attorney….”It’s very easy to criticize when you have no plan of our own,” he said…”It all comes down to specifics,” says Hughes, a Democrat and Corzine backer. “Corzine had them. Christie didn’t. Those of us living in the real world , who have to come in under a cap on property taxes, don’t want to hear about increases in the size of government while he talks about increasing rebates.”
Read more at politickernj.com
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“The very first question had Christie on the defensive and facing a tag-team assault from his rivals. NJN’s Michael Aron asked Christie how he could promise to cut taxes and surcharges while spending more on education and transportation. Consider Corzine’s first statement in the debate, when responding to Christie’s answer. “Let me first of all compliment Mr. Daggett. He has a plan,” he said, calling Christie’s promises a “fantasy.” Daggett was next. “I agree that there’s been no plan put forward by Mr. Christie,” he said…But what may have been the most stinging line came when he criticized Christie’s lack of specificity. “It’s easy to criticize when you have no plan of your own. The tooth fairy’s not going to solve this problem.”
Read more at realclearpolitics.com
Check out The Gov entering the FRONT DOOR of NJN Studios last night, cheered on by hundreds of supporters. You guessed it, Chris Christie went in the BACK DOOR as he could only muster a handful of supporters to show up.
