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New Jersey Senate race: Nothing personal?
By Bill Schneider (CNN)
(CNN) -- Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill said, "All politics is local.'' Not in New Jersey. In New Jersey, all politics is personal -- like this week's intensely personal Play of the Week. Mutual loathing. That's the best way to describe the relationship between Bob Torricelli and Frank Lautenberg during the four years the two New Jersey Democrats served together in the U.S. Senate. Lautenberg says, "Everyone knows that we've had a very tough relationship." No kidding. Torricelli once told a talk show interviewer, "The Founding Fathers made a decision that there should be two Senators from every state. That is not my fault." But when Torricelli pulled out of the New Jersey Senate race this week, the reason he gave wasn't personal. It was partisan. Torricelli said, "I will not be responsible for the loss of the democratic majority in the United States Senate." Republicans are outraged at the notion that a candidate with low poll numbers can drop out of the race to save his party. After all, what's to stop Republicans from pressuring, say, Bill Simon to drop out of his apparently doomed race for governor of California? And substitute, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Hmmm . . . there's an idea. New Jersey Democrats needed a candidate who had name recognition, a good reputation -- and money. Someone like Frank Lautenberg. But why would Lautenberg want to come out of retirement, at age 78? Maybe for personal reasons. What delicious revenge to see your old adversary disgraced, and you take his job. Lautenberg says he's doing it for other reasons. "My opponent wants to take action in court that would eliminate the choices the people of New Jersey have. He's really saying to them, 'Listen, I don't even want you to have an opponent. Just give it to me.'" Republicans are now in the odd position of begging the courts to force a candidate to run who doesn't want to run because they know they can beat him.
In fact, the GOP candidate, Doug Forrester, still intends to run against Torricelli. He says, "We're in a situation where the Torricelli-Lautenberg machine is a perfect, perfect title for this kind of campaign." The Torricelli-Lautenberg machine? That's pretty laughable. It's Lautenberg who gets the last laugh. And the political Play of the Week. Of course, "Last Laugh Lautenberg" still has to get past the U.S. Supreme Court. They've been known to claim the last laugh for themselves.
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