Political Awards for 2003
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.

It’s time to recognize some of the politics and public figures that made their mark over the past year. In no particular order, here goes:

--The “Best Political Move of 2003 Award” goes to the Democratic legislative campaign team who put Democratic Governor Jim McGreevey under wraps this past fall. McGreevey was nowhere to be found in September and October. Notice you didn’t see any mailings or TV spots for Democratic legislative candidates featuring the governor? What’s particularly interesting is that the strategy to keep McGreevey, whose poll numbers are sagging, out of public sight didn’t stop the governor from raising big bucks for the Democratic campaign. To his credit, McGreevey realized he wasn’t an asset to the party and kept his ego in check. For that, the Republican Party paid a hefty price.

--Speaking of Republicans, they get the award for the “Dumbest Political Move for 2003.” More specifically, the GOP based their entire legislative campaign on trashing Democrat McGreevey. The entire Republican strategy, which was devoid of any meaningful discussion of issues was if you don’t like McGreevey, then vote for us. Further, the Republicans miscalculated and misunderstood this public sentiment toward the governor. People don’t dislike him on a personal level. They’re just not happy with some of the things he has done. The only other problem for the Republicans was that Jim McGreevey wasn’t even on the ballot. Other than all these things, it was a great move, I guess.

--The “Most Impressive Politician of 2003 Award” goes to a guy who doesn’t even hold an elected office. US Attorney Chris Christie, who has a Republican bloodline, was fiercely independent in the performance of his duties. He committed to going after government corruption no matter where he found it. True to his word, he went after Republican Essex County Executive and at the time, US Senate candidate Jim Treffinger. There were other Republicans he took on as well. Christie is in his own way a dynamic communicator. His straight from the gut approach is attractive to a lot of voters. His political stock rose big time this year and represents the Democrats worst nightmare in 2005 if he decides to run for governor.

--“Worst Thought Out Policy Proposal in 2003” was the so-called merger of Rutgers, UMDNJ and NJIT into some sort of super university that was supposed to put New Jersey on the map nationally in the world of higher ed. It may have even been a good idea. The problem was it wasn’t clearly thought out and the right bases were not touched by the governor and his team. Further, the governor’s people miscalculated how strongly entrenched the Rutgers hierarchy really is when it comes to sharing turf. There was no way they were going to go for this merger and the governor threatening them to come up with a response by a specific date in January only furthered their resolve. The only thing that could have been worse is if the governor hadn’t pulled the plug on the merger plan and kept it in play for 2004.

--“The Most Sound Policy Idea That Didn’t Happen in 2003” was the raising of the gas tax by 10 cents and putting that money into the Transportation Trust Fund. Most folks agree that the Trust Fund is running out of money and a gas tax was the smartest way of making sure that much needed road and bridge improvement projects stay on track. Yet, the feckless Republicans in the legislature refused to provide any support for the gas tax and the Democrats didn’t want to go it alone and tried to convince the masses that this was the right thing to do. So next time you lose your tire in some huge pot hole or a bridge is out of service, you can thank our “leaders” in Trenton for saving us a few pennies when we fill up at the tanks. Thanks a lot guys.

--The “Rodney Dangerfield ‘I Don’t Get No Respect for 2003’ Award” goes to Christie Whitman. The former New Jersey governor is now also the former head of the EPA. Further, the only reason the Bush presidential campaign asked her to be the co-chair of their NJ effort is that it would be too embarrassing not to. Not only was Whitman largely a non-entity in the Bush Administration when it came to important environmental issues, but most folks, including lots of Republicans, just don’t like her. I bet if she ran head to head with Jim Florio today, he would beat her pretty good. Sorry Christie, just calling it like I see it.

Finally, the “Political Nice Guy Award” goes to US Senator Jon Corzine. This guy gets a lot done and both Democrats and Republicans seem to like him. He’s soft spoken, a gentleman and keeps his word. He’s also loyal to his friends and by all accounts is a stand-up guy. Rare qualities both in politics and life.

Steve Adubato, Ph.D. is a commentator, lecturer and former state legislator. Dr. Adubato is also an Emmy Award-winning television anchor and syndicated columnist.
He can be reached by fax (973) 509-1659 or e-mail him at sadubato@aol.com.

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