Human ATM

Sen. Jon Corzine wants to party like it's ... 2007. That's the year his Senate term ends. Problem is, he's running for New Jersey governor now and needs to donate loads of money to state political causes to win friends and influence party bosses. He told the Federal Election Commission that because his future interest is state, not federal, office, he should be subject to the higher state fund-raising caps. No way, the FEC ruled. As a current federal office holder, Mr. Corzine is bound by federal political contribution limits. Hey, John McCain, you finally caught a "special interest."

Jon Corzine's special interest is, of course, Jon Corzine. The former Goldman Sachs CEO has given over $5 million of his own money to New Jersey Democratic organizations since entering politics, including hundreds of thousands of dollars to the powerful county chairmen whose support is critical to securing the gubernatorial nomination. He also spent $63 million on his own Senate campaign in 2000 and is paying for this year's governorship efforts as well.

Acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey might argue that Mr. Corzine's contributions were really financial investments that paid off big-time. Mr. Corzine pulled off a spectacular blitzkrieg against Mr. Codey earlier this year, so adroitly maneuvering the county party chairs that Mr. Codey pulled out of the race despite strong poll numbers that most politicians would sell their mothers for. Oh, and Mr. Corzine's 89 year-old mother, an Illinois resident, gave $37,000 to Bergen County Democrats. That's the maximum allowed by a state law dubbed "Corzine's Law" that Republicans passed after Mr. Corzine donated $1 million to Democratic political boss George "I'll have your [body part, modified by an expletive] cut off" Norcross III in 2000, as PD recently noted.

Mr. Corzine is running in part on an anti-corruption and ethics platform, as is one of the front-running Republicans, Doug Forrester. Mr. Forrester is also self-financing his campaign and has given freely to local political committees. Should either of these candidates fail to win the state executive mansion of Drumthwacket, they can look forward to the coveted runner-up prize: having a Garden State Parkway rest area named in their honor.