Oh, so that's what the challenger looks like

Commuters can't find seats on a packed NJ Transit train they boarded in New York.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Less than a month before the election, The Record has finally published a photo of Adam Gussen, the Democrat who is challenging radical GOP Rep. Scott Garrett in the 5th District, which includes such Democratic strongholds as Hackensack and most of Teaneck.

The occasion was a debate in Mahwah the paper covered, but didn't publicize (Local front on Monday).

And the story included biographical information on Gussen readers haven't seen since he won the Democratic primary in June.

In fact, the day after the primary, he was referred to as "Gussen." His full name never appeared in the paper.

Jackson's kiss of death

Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson covered the debate and did his best to "bury the lede" -- noting deep on the continuation page that Gussen aggressively used "the option to make quick rebuttals of his opponent's answers" (L-2).

That sounds like what President Obama should have done during his first debate with Mitt Romney, who used a common Republican tactic of lying through his teeth.

GOP naysayer

When Garrett bemoaned joblessness among recent college graduates and the problems his neighbor is having finding a job, Gussen pointed out the Wantage Republican voted to make the situation worse, not better.

When Garret talked about the importance of charity work to combat hunger, Gussen noted the arch-conservative congressman voted to cut a nutritional program for pregnant women and children.

Are readers surprised at the poor job Jackson did in dramatizing the negative force Garrett represents in Congress, and how his endless naysaying has helped paralyze the country? 

Flattering Garrett, Romney

No. The so-called Washington correspondent wrote the flattering profile of Garrett published on the front of the Signature cover (Sept. 20).

A profile of Gussen has yet to appear.

Today, the editorial page is filled with letters from readers reacting to a Friday column on the presidential debate by Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin, who ignored most of Romney's lies or omissions (A-8).

The Record's Doblin and other so-called journalists have been scrambling to report on who "won" the debate, and how the race is tighter than ever, hoping to engage readers who have been knocked senseless by month after month of slanted coverage.

Massachusetts record

The media are suspect for not examining Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts, especially after the GOP candidate declared during last week's debate, "I've done it before and I'll do it again."

Here is an excerpt from Obama's Web site http://www.barackobama.com/romney/economics/ma-record/ma-record-slide-01:
  

"Mitt Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts promising more jobs, decreased debt, and smaller government.

"Here’s what Massachusetts got instead:

• Jobs: 47th out of 50 states in job creation
• Taxes and fees: Increased by $750 million per year
• Long-term debt: Increased more than $2.6 billion"

Donovan's big veto

Also today, an editorial (A-8) and a Charles Stile column (L-1) praise Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan for her "significant" veto of a gutted pay-to-play law.

Of course, there is no explanation for why head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza, buried stories on the veto or why readers found out the law had been watered down through an OpEd article, not a news story.

Where is Marty?

Meanwhile, readers are wondering where Editor Marty Gottlieb has been when his staff of sub-editors, reporters and columnists slant stories and omit significant details.

Well, one look at the front pages today and Monday clearly shows the veteran of The New York Times has his mind in the dugout, not the newsroom.

Ignoring commuters

Look at the Page 1 story today on eliminating free rides for NJ Transit workers (bottom of A-1).

This is by far the least of the problems at NJ Transit, which can't handle the demand for seats on its trains and buses, but The Record continues to ignore the strained mass-transit system in favor of car-centric news coverage.

Have you ever seen a photo of an extended NJ Transit train stopping at a station with a short platform, forcing riders to race through the added cars to get to an exit?

Or a photo of poorly designed double-decker train cars where commuters invariable hit their heads hard on low metal luggage racks?

But almost every day, Sykes and Sforza fail to generate enough local news and run a gee-whiz, filler photo of an overturned car or other accident, such as the one on L-3 today.

In fact, how bad can the economy be if highways, trains and buses are packed every weekday with people commuting to work?

Grease to me

Given the financial turmoil in Greece and how riots over austerity are affecting the U.S. economy, shouldn't readers be boycotting everything Greek, including new restaurants like Yanous Mykonos, opened by Athenians in Demarest (Better Living front)?

In Greece, the wealthy don't pay taxes, and that has sent the nation into a tailspin.

The United States seems to be heading in the same direction after a decade of Bush tax cuts, and Republicans like Romney and Governor Christie fighting off efforts to get the rich to pay their fare share. 

Rich v. families

Here's a debate quote from Gussen, the deputy mayor in Teaneck:

"When Congressman Garret votes, two things happen: Millionaires and billionaires benefit, and New Jersey families suffer."

Isn't that why it's called the Greedy Old Party?