Newark Newspaper Calls Christie 'Overrated,' 'Fraudulent,' Then Endorses Him Anyway

AP

It's been clear for a while that Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) has wide support, but now we know his political coalition is so broad it includes people who think he's "hostile to low-income families," "better at politics than he is at governing," prone to making "fraudulent" claims about his fiscal record, and "overrated."

Those are all things the Newark Star-Ledger said about Christie this Sunday in the process of endorsing him for re-election.

Christie got the Star-Ledger's endorsement even though they think he's "a catastrophe on the environment," even though he's refused to meet with their editorial board at any time since he was elected (a fact the Star-Ledger editors groused about in their editorial), and even though Christie mocked Star-Ledger Editorial Page Editor Tom Moran as "the thinnest-skinned guy in America" to uproarious laughter at a 2010 press conference.

If the editorial is harsh toward Christie, then it's really harsh by implication toward his opponent, State Sen. Barbara Buono (D), whom the Star-Ledger declined to endorse despite all the problems they have with the governor. They hit her for being too close to teachers' unions, too willing to give generous benefits to public employees, and too inept at building political coalitions.

Josh Barro/Business Insider

I was surprised to see that Buono's running mate Milly Silva retweeted my summary of the staff editorial, along with my speculation that the task of writing the endorsement fell to Moran (a left-winger who loathes the governor) after he was overruled on which way it would go.

Do you really want to call attention to the fact that even a newspaper with so many negative things to say about Christie still thinks he's a better pick than your running mate, or that it thinks of you as "a little-known union leader with no experience in elected office and a spotty voting record"?

The Philadelphia Inquirer also endorsed Christie this Sunday. Unlike the Star-Ledger, the Inquirer used more space in their endorsement praising Christie (six paragraphs) than criticizing him (three). Perhaps not coincidentally, Christie took a meeting with the Inquirer's editorial board, according to Inquirer reporter Matt Katz.