Menendez, Kean trade salvos
2006-10-03
Source: North Jersey Media Group
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rss feedDemocratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez argued before The Record's editorial board Monday that he is the obvious choice for dissatisfied voters, dismissing his Republican rival's criticisms of President Bush as "fig leafs."
In his own talk with the board an hour later, Republican candidate Tom Kean Jr. portrayed Menendez as the representative of a partisan, corrupt status quo to which he is the clean, independent alternative.
Also Monday, Kean's campaign announced that it would begin its television advertising in a similar vein today, with a spot that attacks Menendez for renting space to a federally funded non-profit organization. The Menendez campaign dispatched a Democratic congressman to continue its criticism of Kean's negative campaigning.
With voter discontent running high, both candidates were at pains to claim they represent something new. On the war and other issues, Menendez said voters can be sure that he and his fellow Democrats would make changes.
"I think New Jersey voters should make their decision based on whether they want to change the course or stay the course," Menendez said. Asked about Kean's differences with the president, including his call for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation, Menendez said, "Those are fig leafs. ... That's a tactic, not a principle."
But Kean said his call for Rumsfeld's resignation was a more meaningful first step toward changing Iraq policy than Menendez's call for withdrawal within a year. He argued that it was one of several examples of his principled independence from party affiliations, which he sought to contrast with Menendez's hyper-partisanship.
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