By David Cruz
NJ Today
On the day of their first debate, the candidates for governor were their usual study in contrast. In this corner, the incumbent — Chris Christie — in casual attire, throwing himself into a crowd of diner patrons and mugging it up in photos and signing autographs.
Meanwhile, about 10 minutes away, in New Brunswick, the campaign headquarters of challenger Barbara Buono was humming along quietly, with volunteers making phone calls and planning for other events. Sen. Buono, with no public schedule, was elsewhere — preparing for the debate. Communications Director David Turner says tonight is big.
“Absolutely,” said Turner. “It’s the first time both candidates will be on stage together in a back-and-forth format. Sen. Buono’s looking forward to setting the record straight about Christie’s terrible economic policies that have left 400,000 people unemployed and property taxes up 20 percent.”
Known for his straight talk, Christie has grown into a national figure, comfortable in front of the cameras and large audiences. The Buono camp was making that point today and, perhaps, lowering expectations.
“He has more than 100 town halls and he’s well practiced in this,” Turner added. “This is Sen. Buono’s first time on a stage this bright, but she’s going to do fine in her own right. She’s been a legislator for 20 years and she knows the issues.”
Ben Dworkin, the director of the Rebovich Institute for NJ Politics at Rider University, says tonight is Buono’s best shot at landing a big blow.
“What Buono needs to do tonight is to find the YouTube moment,” said Dworkin. “Her own YouTube moment. That moment in the debate where she can grab the microphone, where she can look directly into the camera or directly at Chris Christie and articulate clearly and succinctly why he needs to be replaced.”
Christie has not had a perfect week, though. His name’s been at the center of a mysterious decision to close lanes at the George Washington Bridge and his claim that a low-ranking civil service worker was responsible for the damage to hundreds of NJ Transit trains was debunked — and he hasn’t faced the press in almost three weeks.
“You guys get plenty of cracks at me, ya know,” he said as he whisked past reporters. “It’s not like you’re lacking for Christie time, are you really? Come on.”
With a large double-digit lead in the polls, the governor looked like a man with nothing to lose today, and if he was nervous about tonight’s contest, he didn’t show it.