Editors pause from sugar-coating Christie's record in N.J.

Rush-hour traffic moving slowly on Route 4 east in Paramus this morning, where the delay at the George Washington Bridge ballooned to 90 minutes around 8 a.m., twice the normal wait. Yet The Record has not called on the Port Authority to expand bus service into Manhattan as one way of easing traffic congestion at the Hudson River crossings.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie has seized on the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris to generate fear among Americans and resuscitate his dying campaign for the GOP presidential nomination.

And The Record has turned away from sugar-coating his mean-spirited war against the middle class in New Jersey to help sound the theme that Christie has been tough on terrorists.

Editor Martin Gottlieb again puts a Charles Stile column on Page 1 to report -- for the third day in a row -- how the governor will benefit from the endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Three stories on the same endorsement sound suspiciously like Gottlieb and Stile are in the GOP bully's pocket.

Stile calls right-wing publisher Joseph W. McQuaid a "political kingmaker," even though all but one of the GOP candidates who have received the New Hampshire newspaper's blessing since 1988 lost their bid for the nomination or the White House.

Syrian refugees

We know The Record is reluctant to cross Christie, but a non-profit group has called his bluff by quietly moving a family of seven Syrian refugees into a Paterson apartment (A-1).

They join thousands of law-abiding Syrians, both Christian and Muslim, who have settled in Silk City in the past century.

The only other "news" on Gottlieb's front page today is more drivel about Rutgers University's football team, a subject that doesn't deserve equal billing with Christie's shameless fear mongering and racism (A-1).

Local news

A story on the Local front reports the last of several hikes approved in 2011 goes into effect on Sunday at the George Washington Bridge and other crossings, raising the cash toll to $15 and the peak E-ZPass toll to $12.50 (L-1).

But Staff Writers Christopher Maag and Shawn Boburg don't tell readers about the significant discounts available to drivers of all-electric and hybrid cars or those who carpool.

They also don't point out that the Port Authority refuses to expand bus service into Manhattan, because adding another express lane into the Lincoln Tunnel would displace drivers and reduce the toll revenue the agency depends on (L-6).

Sadly, this story puts a positive spin on the toll hike instead of challenging the agency's unwillingness to address mounting traffic congestion.