A Hypothetical Corzine v. Christie Matchup: Battle of the Titans

By Michael M. Shapiro

Will Gov. Corzine decide not to seek re-election and instead serve in the Obama administration in some capacity?  Will Chris Christie decline to seek the governorship or will he lose in a Republican primary?  A betting man would say that Corzine and Christie are the most likely candidates to run in the general election for governor of New Jersey a little less than a year from now.  Given this hypothetical scenario, one thing is certain:  It will be a battle of the titans.

On the side of Gov. Corzine, there is his near-infinite ability to spend his own money to win re-election.  He has the Democratic powerbrokers and ground game, including the unions, which have the facility to mobilize massive amounts of voters.  He also has the benefits of incumbency, including free publicity for the rest of his term, wherever he travels, whatever he says.  

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New Jersey Democrats In Trouble

By Michael M. Shapiro

New Jersey Democrats are basking in the glory of a solid national Democratic showing; however, closer to home, the prospects for this coming election are currently not looking rosy. They have good reason to be concerned.

Millions of people throughout our nation have unrealistically high expectations for President-elect Obama. A panacea where partisanship becomes a thing of the past will, in all probabilities, simply not occur. While Obama will try to tackle the problems facing our nation, there is no easy fix to the majority of them. The choices are painful and the American people will not be happy when these difficult decisions are made by the President and the Congress. Furthermore, a significant number of our most pressing issues, from the economy to healthcare to the environment to terrorism, will not be solved in a year and are most likely to get worse before they get better.

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