Christie's Dem Challenger: HILLARY 'Wrote Me A Nice Letter — AFTER I LOST.'

[Jim Lane]

48. I'm not saying empty the coffers in support of her, but at least show the flag.

I agree with you that, unfortunately, party leaders with limited resources have to prioritize and make tough decisions. It would make sense to spend a lot more DNC money in Virginia than in New Jersey. But when a popular Republican is running for re-election, and someone who's a credible candidate has stepped up to take on a race that all the other top Democrats in the state passed on, she deserves some level of support -- better than what Barbara Buono got.

For the entire 2013 campaign, was Hillary Clinton busy night and day doing Really Important Stuff, like working frantically for our Virginia candidates? According to Mapquest, the drive from Chappaqua to Newark (NJ's largest city) takes 70 minutes. (Admittedly, maybe longer on the return trip because it goes over the GWB.) She could've popped down here for a rally or a fundraiser.

Obama actually did come to New Jersey during the campaign. He was here in May to inspect post-Sandy rebuilding work. His post-Sandy joint appearance with Christie in the fall of 2012 helped each of them burnish a bipartisan image, so he should have at least taken the opportunity to do something for Buono, like a joint press conference. In fact, however, he wouldn't even meet with her.

You're right about what the polls were showing, but candidates have occasionally closed similar gaps. It's unlikely, but not completely impossible, that, for example, an Obama boost in May could have ignited a swing toward Buono that would have produced an upset. The only thing we can say for certain about a daunting task like closing Christie's lead in the polls is that the Democratic Party won't succeed in pulling off the upset if it doesn't even try. As Wayne Gretzky said, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.