QUOTE
Clinton back for Corzine; Forrester slips in a poll
The ex-president made a second visit. A Forrester spokeswoman called it an attempt to shore up Corzine's "lackluster" record.
By Leonard N. Fleming
Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Thu, Nov. 03, 2005
NEWARK, N.J. - Appearing in New Jersey for a second time to rally Democrats for the perceived gubernatorial front-runner, Bill Clinton told a capacity crowd that U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine had the best plan to lower property taxes, improve education, and lead a "tough state to govern."
Fresh from attending Rosa Parks' funeral in Detroit, the former president invoked the civil-rights icon, who had to take a literacy test to vote in the South, in an effort to remind his overwhelmingly African American audience not to take Tuesday's election for granted.
"You cannot afford to walk away from the chance to make him your governor," Clinton told a crowd of nearly 4,000 in the Essex County College gymnasium. It was the first of two scheduled rallies in Newark and Jersey City.
Amid chants of "four more years," Corzine praised Clinton as the "best president of our lifetime." He said he wanted to lead New Jersey as Clinton had led the United States, by creating jobs, making health care more available, and bolstering educational opportunities.
"We can have tax relief and tax reform," said Corzine, whose contest with Forrester has centered primarily on property taxes - which are the highest in the nation - and who is better suited to root out corruption. "We can get more kids in college. We can make sure we educate all of our children. Will you help me?"
As Corzine's lead over Forrester widened in a poll released yesterday, both candidates pursued jam-packed schedules, starting before dawn at train stations and extending well into the evening with rallies. On Sunday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) is expected to appear on behalf of Corzine, and New York Gov. George Pataki is to campaign for Forrester on Sunday or Monday.
The poll, conducted Oct. 24 to Sunday by Quinnipiac University, had Corzine leading Forrester, 50 percent to 38 percent, among 636 likely voters. In a poll that the Connecticut school released Oct. 19, Corzine led, 50 percent to 43 percent. Each poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Sherry Sylvester, a spokeswoman for Forrester, said other recent polls showed a closer race.
"And we're confident that when voters go to the polls and are faced with the prospect of change or more of the same with Jon Corzine, they're going to elect Doug governor," she said. "New Jerseyans are well aware of what it takes to be governor, and Jon Corzine doesn't have what it takes."
Sylvester said that Clinton's visit was an attempt to shore up Corzine's "lackluster public record in public service" and that the former president's star power would not help the first-term senator.
In September, Clinton so extolled Corzine at a Kean University rally that his words - calling Corzine the best "qualified person I ever saw present himself or herself for the office of governor" - became part of a Corzine TV ad.
Polls do not always reflect the volatility of the New Jersey electorate, which has surprised pollsters in recent years. The starkest example was in 1993, when Republican Christie Whitman defeated Democratic Gov. Jim Florio after trailing badly in late polls.
Whitman is also the only Republican to have won a statewide race in New Jersey since 1985.
Yesterday was also a day when Corzine's campaign felt the need to react to comments made in a New York Times article by his former wife, Joanne, who questioned his judgment in making deals in the infancy of his political career with Democratic Party bosses and black ministers.
The Times quoted Joanne Corzine as saying, "When I saw the campaign ad where Andrea Forrester said, 'Doug never let his family down, and he won't let New Jersey down,' all I could think was that Jon did let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too."
The Corzines divorced after he was elected to the Senate.
Tom Shea, a top Corzine adviser, said the candidate did not believe that responding to his former wife's comments was "an appropriate topic for a political campaign," but did not think they would sway voters. "The end of a long marriage is a painful thing," he said.
Shea said he expected Forrester and the Republicans to use Joanne Corzine's comments to curry favor with voters. Republicans have already begun hammering at Corzine's character along with other attacks linking him to corruption and political bosses.
"They have lost on their campaign of ideas," Shea said. "They have failed miserably on the issues central to their campaign. It smacks of desperation, and I think the voters will see it that way."
Sylvester said Forrester had no intention of skewering Corzine's private life because "his public life is sleazy enough."
The barrage of TV ads continued this week as well, with the Forrester campaign releasing a spot in which Andrea Forrester contends that Corzine is misrepresenting her husband's views on issues such as stem-cell research.
The ex-president made a second visit. A Forrester spokeswoman called it an attempt to shore up Corzine's "lackluster" record.
By Leonard N. Fleming
Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Thu, Nov. 03, 2005
NEWARK, N.J. - Appearing in New Jersey for a second time to rally Democrats for the perceived gubernatorial front-runner, Bill Clinton told a capacity crowd that U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine had the best plan to lower property taxes, improve education, and lead a "tough state to govern."
Fresh from attending Rosa Parks' funeral in Detroit, the former president invoked the civil-rights icon, who had to take a literacy test to vote in the South, in an effort to remind his overwhelmingly African American audience not to take Tuesday's election for granted.
"You cannot afford to walk away from the chance to make him your governor," Clinton told a crowd of nearly 4,000 in the Essex County College gymnasium. It was the first of two scheduled rallies in Newark and Jersey City.
Amid chants of "four more years," Corzine praised Clinton as the "best president of our lifetime." He said he wanted to lead New Jersey as Clinton had led the United States, by creating jobs, making health care more available, and bolstering educational opportunities.
"We can have tax relief and tax reform," said Corzine, whose contest with Forrester has centered primarily on property taxes - which are the highest in the nation - and who is better suited to root out corruption. "We can get more kids in college. We can make sure we educate all of our children. Will you help me?"
As Corzine's lead over Forrester widened in a poll released yesterday, both candidates pursued jam-packed schedules, starting before dawn at train stations and extending well into the evening with rallies. On Sunday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) is expected to appear on behalf of Corzine, and New York Gov. George Pataki is to campaign for Forrester on Sunday or Monday.
The poll, conducted Oct. 24 to Sunday by Quinnipiac University, had Corzine leading Forrester, 50 percent to 38 percent, among 636 likely voters. In a poll that the Connecticut school released Oct. 19, Corzine led, 50 percent to 43 percent. Each poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Sherry Sylvester, a spokeswoman for Forrester, said other recent polls showed a closer race.
"And we're confident that when voters go to the polls and are faced with the prospect of change or more of the same with Jon Corzine, they're going to elect Doug governor," she said. "New Jerseyans are well aware of what it takes to be governor, and Jon Corzine doesn't have what it takes."
Sylvester said that Clinton's visit was an attempt to shore up Corzine's "lackluster public record in public service" and that the former president's star power would not help the first-term senator.
In September, Clinton so extolled Corzine at a Kean University rally that his words - calling Corzine the best "qualified person I ever saw present himself or herself for the office of governor" - became part of a Corzine TV ad.
Polls do not always reflect the volatility of the New Jersey electorate, which has surprised pollsters in recent years. The starkest example was in 1993, when Republican Christie Whitman defeated Democratic Gov. Jim Florio after trailing badly in late polls.
Whitman is also the only Republican to have won a statewide race in New Jersey since 1985.
Yesterday was also a day when Corzine's campaign felt the need to react to comments made in a New York Times article by his former wife, Joanne, who questioned his judgment in making deals in the infancy of his political career with Democratic Party bosses and black ministers.
The Times quoted Joanne Corzine as saying, "When I saw the campaign ad where Andrea Forrester said, 'Doug never let his family down, and he won't let New Jersey down,' all I could think was that Jon did let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too."
The Corzines divorced after he was elected to the Senate.
Tom Shea, a top Corzine adviser, said the candidate did not believe that responding to his former wife's comments was "an appropriate topic for a political campaign," but did not think they would sway voters. "The end of a long marriage is a painful thing," he said.
Shea said he expected Forrester and the Republicans to use Joanne Corzine's comments to curry favor with voters. Republicans have already begun hammering at Corzine's character along with other attacks linking him to corruption and political bosses.
"They have lost on their campaign of ideas," Shea said. "They have failed miserably on the issues central to their campaign. It smacks of desperation, and I think the voters will see it that way."
Sylvester said Forrester had no intention of skewering Corzine's private life because "his public life is sleazy enough."
The barrage of TV ads continued this week as well, with the Forrester campaign releasing a spot in which Andrea Forrester contends that Corzine is misrepresenting her husband's views on issues such as stem-cell research.