The New Jersey Race: A Look at Two Corzine-Christie Ads

Tuesday is the day when the citizens of New Jersey go to the polls and elect their next Governor. Rasmussen shows that the race is essentially in dead heat, with a slight advantage for the Republican candidate. It would seem now that the only chance the Governor has to win is if a lot of people decide that they have something to gain from voting. The Democratic Party has frequently used superstars like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to promote the Governor, but voters are simply not too impressed with their chief executive, even though they always vote for the Democratic alternative in presidential elections. Let’s take a look at the two leading candidates before dissecting their ads:

• Jon Corzine – The current Governor was elected in 2005. A former U.S. Senator, Corzine is a reliable liberal on most issues, even though he’s a former banker who’s made a huge fortune. Corzine has always been careful not to let money become a weapon in his critics’ hands, for instance refusing the standard governor’s salary. His first term has had its challenges… and at least one embarrassing girlfriend scandal. There was also the senseless crash in 2007 that almost cost Corzine his life when his SUV was hit by a pickup truck. His driver was exceeding the speed limit and the Governor wasn’t wearing a seat belt, but he did survive the accident, chose to pay the entire cost of his hospital stay and then appeared in ads promoting the use of seat belts.

• Chris Christie – A former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Christie is the Republican challenger in the race. At the age of 15, Christie found out that a member of his family belonged to the Genovese crime family. As U.S. Attorney, he has enjoyed success in several corruption cases, dealing blow after blow against organized crime. However, on many occasions he has been heavily criticized of being a partisan in office and of allegedly committing civil rights violations. As candidate for Governor, Christie is probably considered a Communist by some right-wingers for supporting the state’s current gun laws and not speaking out more forcefully against same-sex relationships.

No one loves Corzine or Christie, that’s for sure; they simply don’t seem to inspire much enthusiasm. As for their ads, I have chosen to ignore the infamous one where Corzine makes fun of Christie’s weight, but both of these ads are pretty good, albeit different in tone. The Christie ad (below) is fun and engaging, featuring two likeable guys performing a campaign tune that’s attacking taxes, one of Christie’s main beefs with Corzine. Throwing in New Jersey’s unemployment rate is not really honest considering the national crisis, but I like the guerilla style of this ad and its economic message is probably one reason why voters tend to lean Republican this year. The Corzine ad (above) is very effective in its quest to turn every parent in New Jersey against Christie who has said that he thinks pre-school is “babysitting”. The ad shows a parent and a teacher passionately explain what role pre-school plays in children’s lives; it is convincing and compassionate, painting Christie as a typically angry, cheap Republican willing to cut education for your kids. On the other hand, I’m not blind to the Corzine campaign’s mean-spirited attempt to take advantage of the fact that Christie is overweight; the final shot of the ad is in slow-motion, showing the former U.S. Attorney in the most unflattering light possible.

politik usa politics

Published 2009-10-31 16:16

Subscribe to this blog