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BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Urging a sign-waving crowd of 3,500 Democratic supporters to get out and re-elect Gov. Jon Corzine, President Obama concluded a 31-minute pep talk on behalf of the governor at a rally in Hackensack Wednesday by leading a chant of "Are you ready? Fire it up! Are you ready? Fire it up!"
And not far away from Obama and Corzine on the stage at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Rothman Center was a surprise celebrity, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy.
Obama told the crowd composed mainly of party activists that Corzine is one of the best friends he has in the White House and that New Jersey and the nation need him to be re-elected.
"I know what you want from political leaders and you don't want somebody who is slick. Somebody who will pretend everything is all right. Somebody who will spend their time blaming other people,‘' Obama said. "I hope you want somebody who will be straight with you. Who will spend every day working for you. I want everybody to understand Jon Corzine is a serious man and serious about solving the problems of New Jersey.''Obama also attacked the strategy of Republican gubernatorial challenger Chris Christie and the state GOP that blames Corzine for the state's economic problems.
"The economic recession did not start under Jon Corzine or the Democratic Party‘s watch,'' the president said. "There seems to be some selective memory here on how we got into this fix. If you listen to Jon Corzine's opponent you would think New Jersey is the only state in America where people are facing layoffs. I don't need to tell you, you know who to trust. It's not just Teaneck that is going through a tough time, it's not just New Jersey, it's all of America.
"The recession came about through the trickle down theory the other guys have been peddling for years,'' the president added. "I'm telling you those guys have got a lot of nerve. They leave us a mess and complain about how fast we are cleaning it up.''
Obama told the crowd that Corzine has provided more property tax relief for New Jersey than any governor in history, and was the first governor to reduce state spending in 60 years. He said Corzine created the first state economic recovery plan in the nation and has fought for better public education and health care.
Kennedy spoke for four minutes and before Obama's appearance.
She recalled how she spent "some of the happiest days of my childhood with my mother and brother in New Jersey (at the family's Somerset Hills estate),'' and how the state supported the presidential bids of her father in 1960 and "my Uncle Teddy,'' the late Sen. Edward Kennedy in 1980.
"Jon Corzine is able to fight for others because he has never forgotten where he came from,'' Kennedy said. "He was born on a farm to a middle-class family that lost everything in The Depression. Jon Corzine stabilized New Jersey's finances, he improved schools, he protected the homes and jobs of hardworking families, and he created a green economy. He has done all this despite fact we are living through the worse recession in 70 years.''
Corzine addressed the rally for 12 minutes, and said to Kennedy, "Caroline, when I hear your voice and I think about you and your family, I hear Senator Kennedy calling from heaven for us to finish his dream. With President Obama's leadership, that dream will become a reality.''
The governor told the crowd, "The November 3rd election is not about Jon Corzine, it's not about Chris Christie. It's about us and the future to which we aspire.''
He repeatedly said "Chris Christie is wrong when it matters most,‘' and charged the Republican "would bring back the failed Bush values to New Jersey.''
Corzine concluded, "I love this state. I moved here to raise my three children. New Jersey gave me every opportunity. I want to make sure that in the next 13 days you stand strong with me. You do that and I'll stand strong with you for the next four years.''
After the rally, Kennedy, a resident of Manhattan, and Corzine traveled to Belmar where they appeared at a Irish-American political dinner at The Barclay.
The Belmar event capped was to cap off a three-day period in which Vice President Biden and former president Bill Clinton also campaigned for Corzine. The national Democratic Party brought the big names into the state in an effort to boost Corzine to victory over Christie. The two are presently neck and neck in the race for the governor's office.
Obama initially called for Corzine's re-election on July 16 before an overflow crowd of 17,500 at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel.
Place behind Obama, Kennedy, Corzine and state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, on the Rothman Center stage were about 80 women, each wearing pink stickers that read "Mammos Matter,'' a reference to what Democrats charge is Christie's plan to allow health insurance companies to drop mandated mammogram coverage for women. Although Christie denies he would ever eliminate mandated mammogram coverage, Corzine‘s attacks on the issue have hurt him with women voters.
The crowd in front of the stage stood shoulder to shoulder, many with red and white or blue and white "Corzine and Weinberg'' signs. More people crowded the bleachers.
In the face of parking demands and expected traffic congestion, classes at Fairleigh Dickinson were canceled for the day, and non-essential staffers were allowed to take a paid day off.
Tickets to the rally were distributed by the Corzine campaign. The university received a small block of tickets with the majority of them going to leaders of student organizations. The remainder went to faculty, staff and university supporters.
A number of tickets were given to Corzine supporters who did not receive tickets for the PNC Arts Center rally.
Christie did not surrender to Corzine's big day in Bergen County. Instead he made a stop for a "kitchen table tax talk at a home in Passaic in the morning and visited the Arena Diner in Hackensack in mid-afternoon.
Christie's campaign said that with 13 days to go until Election Day, Christie was meeting with "overtaxed homeowners'' while Corzine was relying on Obama "to try to save his campaign.''
