If you had given Uncle Floyd $35 million to spend that year he would have beaten Jim Florio by the same margin,

states Roberto, talking about Corsine,

The point I was getting at was if you took Corzine’s bio, erased his name and put a republican’s name on it, the rank and file democrat party would hate him.

That point hasn’t gone unnoticed by Paul Mulshine, who just the other day was asking Corsine to Switch parties, not seats, senator:

Corzine’s logic, near as I can deduce it, is that he is unlikely to have much effect in his current post as a U.S. senator now that the Republicans have a substantial majority in that house. He therefore could accomplish more as the governor of New Jersey.

This theory is flawed on both counts. To take the second point first, New Jersey is in a fiscal mess at the moment largely because of the phenomenon noted above. Our courts have taken over the running of our schools, and the judges refuse to recognize any limits on spending. What we need is a governor who will confront the courts and cut spending. That governor is certainly not Corzine, the biggest spender in the field.

If he remains in the Senate, however, Corzine could address the problem of his diminished status simply by switching parties. If, as Moynihan suggested, the Democrats are not good for Northeastern states, then the best way to serve the constituents of those states is to stop being a Democrat. Republicans can do a lot of good in these parts, as Corzine unintentionally noted Thursday when, in answer to a question, he made some complimentary remarks about Michael Bloomberg. The New York City mayor before Bloomberg was also a Republican, Rudy Giuliani, who represents a lone voice of sanity amid the howling of the corn-state creationists.

As a former head of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, Corzine would certainly be comfortable consorting with Republicans.

Mulshine ends by saying “There is no reason he [Corsine] should be let off for good behavior.”

Then, there’s always Uncle Floyd . . .