Courier News says for Christie, "the buck stops there"

by: Jason Springer

Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 10:15:00 AM EDT

The Courier News endorsed Chris Christie today, and while it's certainly no surprise that a Gannett paper endorsed a Republican, the lengths they will go to justify and coddle are flat out amazing:

Earlier in the year Christie appeared a potential shoo-in for victory. He had built a reputation as a corruption-busting U.S. attorney, a resume that resonated with New Jerseyans terribly weary of dirty politicians in their midst. He also carried with him the promise of a cost-cutting Republican who could rein in the Trenton Democratic spending machine devouring the state.
But that message has gotten lost. A few minor skeletons tumbled out of his closet - a poor driving record, an undisclosed loan to a co-worker. But the overriding negative perception of Christie is also entirely unfair, that he's a would-be tax cutter without a plan. Blame a poorly constructed campaign for that, not Christie.

But who put together the people that are running that campaign if not Christie himself? That's like saying that the car is responsible for causing an accident, not the driver who was steering. According to their endorsement, the impossible has happened. What once seemed like a foregone conclusion to them is now in doubt, but none of that is Chris Christie's fault.

We've had leaders in the history of our country who have said, "the buck stops here." Unfortunately now, even the media is buying into Christie's buck stops there mentality. Throughout this campaign, Christie has:

blamed a motorcyclist for hitting him when he caused the accident
said it was a tow truck operator identified him as US Attorney during a separate traffic incident
blamed his secretary for his lavish expenditures
said he had no knowledge when a long time associate, who he claimed to be just a volunteer, bribed Rick Merkt to get out of the primary

And on those minor skeletons, since when is abuse of power a minor issue? In what world are violating the Hatch Act and failing to pay taxes nothing to take a second look at? Christie used his position to get out of problems and then blamed other people for getting in them in the first place. If this is the opinion of the editors, it's not worth the paper it's written on.

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Trenton Times Editorial lays the smack down over the current Iraq war debate

by: Jason Springer

Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 11:24:01 AM EDT

The Trenton Times has an excellent Editorial today titled "Shameless Exploitation" and its a pretty damning indictment of the argument going on over the war in Iraq...

You may have seen or heard one of the slick ads. A young former soldier, a double amputee as a result of wounds suffered while fighting in Iraq, declares that if we don't fight those who attacked us there (Iraq), then we'll have to fight them here. Let us finish the job, the soldier intones. The emotional film also shows a plane crashing into the World Trade Center.

First, let me thank the soldier for his service. Now onto the ad: Of course, you have to get the World Trade Center in there, because what discussion of Iraq would be complete without invoking 9/11 even though they have nothing to do with each other. The editorial calls them on that too...

The ad is one more example of the administration's shameless attempts to mislead the American public. If we really want to follow the ad's message, then it appears that we should be attacking Saudia Arabia. Those who attacked us were not from Iraq; most of the 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, our "great" ally. Most certainly, al Qaeda is in Iraq today, but only because the war, according to our own intelligence assessments, has stirred the hornets' nest of Islamic extremists.

They go on to explain why this "latest assault on reality" will not succeed...

They have no credibility because the architects of the misguided war have never owned up to the mistakes it made in the mad rush to war or for the tragically bungled post-war strategy in Iraq.

Or for the mistakes they continue to make this very day for that matter. The Editorial closes with a warning to be on the lookout for other shameless efforts in the future...

We should prepare ourselves for more shameless exploitation by these well-heeled groups. They have money and emotion on their side. Certainly not reason or reality.

Let's hope that reason and reality finally win out. The only way for that to happen is for Editorial boards, the media and the people to keep calling out the bullshit that this Administration is shoveling.

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