Was 2016 presidential election the 'closest' in half-century? Hillary Clinton said to win popular vote by 2 million-plus

The New York Times front page on Saturday reported President-elect Donald J. Trump "cast aside" Governor Christie as the head of his transition team. On this rack at Starbucks Coffee on the Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne, below, The Record of Woodland Park is displayed at the bottom.

Editor's note: This post has been expanded to discuss the departure of the restaurant reviewer as part of the biggest downsizing in The Record's history.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's front page today declares the presidential election was "America's closest ... in more than half a century."

But on Friday, The New York Times reported Hillary Clinton won the popular vote "by a substantial margin."

"By the time all the ballots are counted, she seems likely to be ahead by more than 2 million votes and more than 1.5 percentage points ...," Op-Ed Columnist David Leonhardt reported.

"She will have won by a wider percentage margin than not only Al Gore in 2000, but also Richard Nixon in 1968 and John F. Kennedy in 1960."

Clearly, America's electoral system is broken, contributing to Clinton's defeat in the antiquated Electoral College.

As unprecedented protests continue in Manhattan and around the country (A-1), you won't find any discussion of the broken electoral system or voter apathy in The Record.

Instead, the paper has been filled since Thursday with story after story trying to explain why people voted the way the did, and speculating on what President-elect Donald J. Trump will do once he takes office on Jan. 20.

Today's paper

The editors ran not one but two columns by the insufferable Mike Kelly, who goes on and on about "my own journey to listen to ordinary voters" (A-1), and how in March, "I set out to interview ordinary voters who had been out of work for more than a year" (O-1).

In his Page 1 column, Kelly says last Tuesday's election was "America's closest ... in more than half a century."

But how can anyone call an election close when 4 of 10 voters or more stayed home?

CNN reports working-class whites gave Trump the White House, but that voter turnout hit a 20-year low. 

In fact, the wacko racist billionaire -- who has inspired more than 200 hate incidents since the election (A-1 and A-10) -- got fewer Republican votes than Mitt Romney, John McCain and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, according to CNN.

Voter apathy also affected Clinton, who got fewer Democratic votes than the party's previous presidential nominees going back to 2000, but did just barely beat her husband's turnout in 1996.

CNN says its vote totals were valid as of Thursday, but will be higher by the time all vote counting is completed in mid-December.

Governor Christie

As The Record has done since Governor Christie took office in early 2010, Staff Writer Dustin Racioppi tries to put a positive spin on the latest setback for the GOP thug -- his being demoted to one of Trump's vice chairmen for the transition (A-1).

Racioppi, who is assigned to cover the governor, once did a story on how many vetoes the GOP bully used to thwart the Democratic majority in the state Legislature.

At the time, it was more than 300. But he never did a follow-up, even after Christie passed 500 vetoes. 

Fat lady sings?

Staff Writer Elisa Ung tells readers today she is "moving on" after reviewing 400 restaurants in the last nine years, as well as writing a Sunday column and an unknown number of items that promoted -- not dissected -- restaurants (BL-1).

Her Corner Table column today confirms Ung wrote about restaurants superficially, and rarely bothered to find out whether the food she sampled and recommended to readers was naturally raised and free of antibiotics, growth hormones and other harmful additives.

Her last review on Friday was a rare exception. She reported Viaggio Chef Robbie Felice serves pork from Berkshire pigs and free-range chickens.

Squid with butter

She claimed she was giving Wayne's "new Italian spot" the highest rating for a Passaic County restaurant in her nine years at The Record (3.5 stars out of 4 stars), because it presents food "as it's cooked in Italy."

But she puzzled readers when she praised the seemingly inauthentic fried calamari served "with a lemon-butter sauce."

And as in nearly every one of her 400 reviews, she raved about a few of Viaggio's desserts, though in her column today she tells readers, "Don't order dessert," which she noted "is almost always underwhelming and, too often, gross."

The biggest laugh line in that last review was her complaint about "hard metal chairs that dig into your sides."

After eating so many high-calorie desserts, many the problem is Ung's sides, not the chairs.

Ung is one of The Record staffers affected by the biggest downsizing in the 121-year-old paper's history, put into motion by the Gannett Co.

Editor's column

In his first message to readers, The Record's new editor, Rick Green, discusses changes that will take place next week (O-2).

But he doesn't confirm Gannett Co. is following through on a Sept. 15 layoff announcement affecting half of the 426 employees at North Jersey Media Group -- publisher of The Record, Herald News, (201) magazine, weekly papers and NorthJersey.com. 

A notice on the front page of the weekly Hackensack Chronicle told readers the paper will continue to be published, but Gannett is folding the Teaneck Suburbanite.

Green also disclosed he has "settled into a great apartment in Nutley" instead of one in Bergen County, the heart of The Record's circulation area.

Every 4 years, nation's news media whip voters into a frenzy

From cartoonist Bill Day.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record continues to ignore the issues at stake in Tuesday's election, joining other news media in declaring a horse race between GOP wacko Donald J. Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

Today's trite Page 1 headline over photos of the nominees declares:

"Fighting to the finish"

So, what will Monday's A-1 headline say?

"Still fighting to the finish"

On Friday night, satirist Bill Maher warned the election of Trump would set into motion a right-wing coup with Chris Christie as attorney general and Rudy Giuliani in charge of the FBI.

For a frightening glimpse of a Dictator Trump's first 100 days in office, see The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, whose column is buried on O-4 in The Record's Opinion section:

"Among things you can expect:

"A trade war with China and Mexico, a restarting of Iran's nuclear program, millions losing their health insurance, the start of mass deportations, a possible military standoff with China in the South China Sea and North Korea, resumption of waterboarding, the use of federal agencies to go after Hillary Clinton and other Trump critics, the spectacle of the commander in chief suing women who have accused him of sexual misconduct ....

"Oh, and the Federal Reserve would be audited and guns would once again be allowed in schools."

Bridgegate verdict

Incredibly repetitious coverage of the Bridgegate scandal continues unabated two days after a federal jury found Governor Christie's former aides, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, guilty of conspiracy and related charges (A-1, A-11, L-1, O-1 and O-2).

The Page 1 story tries hard to keep readers interested in the possibility the verdicts in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures won't stand:

"Defense

lawyers

eager to

appeal"

But anyone who bothers to turn to the continuation page learns appeals aren't filed until after Kelly and Baroni are sentenced, which is set for Feb. 21.

In fact, one expert is quoted as saying "an appeal could be filed by April" (A-11).

So much for "eager" defense attorneys.

Dogs enjoyed the crisp fall air by putting their heads out of the windows of this van, which I spotted in Teaneck on Friday.

Local news?

The Gannett-owned daily is just getting around to printing the names of candidates in local and county elections, but in the majority of contests, reporters and editors never actually covered the campaigns or informed voters about the issues (L-2 and L-3).

Editors should be calling on Trump to admit his mistakes

From cartoonist Jeff Darcy of The Cleveland Plain Dealer (cleveland.com).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Amid new revelations about GOP presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump's groping, The Record's front page focuses instead on spousal abuse by an obscure athlete.

Trump has succeeded in distracting the news media with his pledge to accept the outcome of the Nov. 8 election -- but only if he wins (A-1 and A-8).

The New York Times calls the wacko racist billionaire an "enemy of democracy," and Op-Ed Columnist Dave Leonhardt declares:

"Trump has adopted the language of despots -- lie-filled accusations meant to delegitimize both his opponent and the country's entire democratic system of governance."

Contrast that with The Record's wishy-washy editorial on Trump and the integrity of the election (A-18).

Meanwhile, Karena Virginia, 45, of Monmouth County became the 10th woman to publicly accuse the GOP groper of unwanted physical contact -- saying he grabbed her arm and touched her breast during a chance encounter at the 1998 U.S. Open (A-7).

Sports lead

Leading the paper with a sports story is always wrong, but it's especially bad journalism now, when the nation is facing the possibility of seeing a sociopath and sexual abuser of women elected president.

Tara Sullivan's column -- "Giants need to admit their mistakes" -- even knocked the Bridgegate trial off Page 1.

Informal dining

Check your gas tank and make sure you bring your cholesterol-lowering pills with you, if you intend to visit Sette, a wood-fired pizzeria in Totowa recommended by Staff Writer Elisa Ung (BL-14).

Ung, the paper's chief restaurant reviewer, advises readers not to miss the cannoli pizza.

Editors come down hard on Christie, but six years too late

Solar panels form the roof of the Bergen County Administration Building's employee parking garage in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In 2010, Governor Christie delayed the first expansion of metropolitan area rail service in ages by at least a decade.

In torpedoing new Hudson River rail tunnels, he ensured that hundreds of thousands of commuters would face increasing traffic congestion, loss of productivity, worsening air pollution, and fewer seats on NJ Transit trains and buses.

But The Record of Woodland Park didn't see the monumental consequences of his actions, and pretty much swallowed whole his claim he killed the project to save taxpayers millions more in cost overruns.

Now, today's editorial is blaming "the Christie administration" for turning NJ Transit "from the jewel of regional commuter-rail systems to the joke of them; it has been a race to the bottom" (O-2).

But Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin has only himself to blame.

He ignored the ramifications of the tunnel decision, then refused to out the governor when Christie grabbed hundreds of millions of dollars in leftover funds to pave roads and fix bridges.

That allowed the GOP thug to impose his conservative fiscal policies on the state, and continue vetoing a hike in the gasoline tax to fund Transportation Trust Fund road and rail improvements.

Doblin didn't even protest Christie slashing state subsidies to NJ Transit by more than 90 percent, triggering fare hikes and service cuts, and delaying an automatic braking system that could have prevented last month's fatal train crash in Hoboken.

Trump, Garrett on A-1

Today's front page is dominated by a large photo of GOP presidential nominee and sexual predator Donald J. Trump bringing his campaign of lies, racism and hatred to Edison (A-1 and A-3).

Leading the paper is an investigative piece on accidental shootings of minors -- one every other day during the first six months of the year (A-1).

So you'd think a Page 1 story on Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, would mention one of the most conservative members of Congress gets an "A" from the National Rifle Association for opposing gun control.

But it doesn't. 

Garrett lies

In Opinion, Columnist Brigid Harrison asks, "Why would Garrett knowingly mislead voters" in ads about his opponent, Democrat Josh Gottheimer (O-4).

"Why would he blame his opponent for ridiculous positions, and mislead voters about his own record?"

She answers her own questions by revealing that in 13 years in office, the 5th District congressman "has successfully had [only] four pieces of legislation become law."

Unbearable

For the second day in a row, The Record is publicizing a protest over the death of a bear named "Pedals," which walked upright and had a Facebook page before he was killed by a bow hunter (L-1).

It isn't known whether the protesters have demonstrated against the mistreatment and death of humans, including the slaughter of innocent children and teens during gang shootouts in Paterson.

A story on a food fest in Clifton notes the city of 86,000 is "among the most diverse in the state and has large Latino, Middle Eastern and Polish communities (L-1).

But Staff Writer Pat Alex neglects to mention African-Americans made up less than 5% of the city's population in the 2010 census, even though Clifton surrounds Passaic city and shares a border with Paterson.

Second coming

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung devotes her entire Sunday column to cauliflower dishes at restaurants, "noting the white flowered vegetable has become one of the hottest trends in the food world" (BL-1).

Ung's column, The Corner Table, appears on the Better Living cover, which two years ago, nearly to the day, carried another story on cauliflower's resurgence under this headline:

"CAULIFLOWER'S COMEBACK"

Editors equating Trump sexual assaults with Clinton emails

These cartoons appear on Cagel.com. This one is from Alen Lauzan, a cartoonist who lives in Chile.

This one is from Adam Zyglis of The Buffalo News.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Associated Press -- a cooperative news and information service owned by 1,400 U.S. daily newspapers -- has always been known for one thing: Speed.

Accuracy, perspective, knowledge of issues -- not so much. 

So it's no surprise The AP story leading The Record today equates the scandal over GOP wacko Donald J. Trump's sex assaults with Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails (A-1).

What is a surprise is that the Gannett-owned daily continues to rely on The AP -- also known as The Associated Mess --for coverage of the presidential race instead of using stories from The Washington Post or its own USA Today.

"With Election Day four weeks away," today's AP story begins, "both presidential candidates [on Tuesday] dealt with their own troublesome issues:

"Donald Trump in a pitched battle with his own party as his candidacy nears collapse, and Hillary Clinton grappling with leaks about her long-criticized private email server."

"Troublesome issue" hardly comes close to describing the disgust over Trump's predatory attitude toward every woman who comes within reach.

And "troublesome issue" doesn't do justice to Trump's endless lies -- and lies about his lies -- in the first two debates.

Today's AP story shows the danger of the generalized lead loved by all wire service reporters.

Governor Christie

Get a load of the photo of Governor Christie leaving his state police helicopter on Tuesday, when he attended a Trump fundraiser in Ridgewood (A-7).

Christie, who is sticking by the GOP presidential predator, looks rumpled, overweight and stressed out over always having to defend Trump.

Breaking four days of silence, the GOP thug said he is "embarrassed" by Trump's "vile language," but won't withdraw his support from his fellow racist, State House Bureau reporter Dustin Racioppi says.

Christie also has been beaten up by continuing revelations in the Bridgegate trial (A-1), including testimony he knew about the retaliatory George Washington Bridge lane closures as they were happening in September 2013.

"I'm the fucking Governor of this state," he told a Monmouth County freeholder who described Christie as a "fat fuck," according to other testimony.

Hilarious.

Wrong-way Cichowski

Today's Road Warrior column speculates on whether gas selling for $2.25 a gallon will discourage people from driving and cut traffic deaths (L-1).

That's ridiculous. 

Staff Writer John Cichowski doesn't even mention drivers may switch to more efficient cars to negate the 23-cents-a-gallon hike, which he says will take effect on Nov. 1.

For example, most minivans have more cargo space than 7-passenger SUVs, and get better gas mileage.