Bill Clinton

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Former Gov. Tom Kean at a GOP rally earlier this year with John McCain and Joe Lieberman

Former Gov. Tom Kean will not comment on whether he’s been asked about or vetted for a cabinet position in the Obama Administration. But don’t read anything into that.

“I don’t comment on those things. I can’t,” said Kean, a Republican whose name surfaced in media reports both as a potential pick for Secretary of Education and for Department of Homeland Security Secretary (which is likely to go to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano).

Being vetted for a cabinet position is a tricky situation. If the administration has talked to you, you’re not supposed to comment on it, and it’s better to err on the side of caution and not say even if you have not been contacted about it.

“It’s an elaborate dance,” he said.

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Former President Bill Clinton with Linda Stender in the closing days of the 2006 campaign

CRANFORD -- Speaking in support of Assemblywoman Linda Stender's congressional bid at Union County College today, former President Bill Clinton said Hillary had sent him.

"She said that New Jersey had been good to me and good to her, and we needed to be good to New Jersey by helping Linda Stender get elected to Congress," said Clinton.

Clinton spent the bulk of his time giving his usual stump speech for Barack Obama, but he started off by rattling off some of Stender's accomplishments in the legislature.  He characterized her as an integral part of a sweeping change needed in Washington.

"I have reviewed Linda Stender's record very carefully, and if you look at the needs of America today, I think you can make a very compelling case that she has a record that is one of the finest not only in the legislature in New Jersey, but in the entire United States of America," he said.

Clinton specifically mentioned Stender's global warming bill, her previous work dealing with mortgages, her support for stem cell research and her bill to ban junk food in school cafeterias.

He also demonstrated some familiarity with her last race against now-retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson.

"She lost by 3,000 votes last time.  There are enough people in this room to turn 3,000 votes between now and Tuesday," he said.

He was less familiar with the margins he won New Jersey by in his two elections.  Clinton said he won the first time by one percent, and the second time by 15 percent.

"We haven't won by less since," he said. (John Kerry beat President Bush in the New Jersey by 6%).

Former President Bill Clinton is running late, leaving more than 1,000 Democrats waiting on the Saturday before the election at a rally for Democratic congressional candidate Linda Stender.  The rally began at 12:30 PM, with Clinton expected about an hour later.  It's now 2:20 PM and the former President has not yet arrived.  That's tough on the master of ceremonies, State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, who is trying hard to come up with new material to keep the crowd engaged.

Yesterday, Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin faxed a letter to the president and the communications head of Union County College to ask why they were making an exception to their own policy in order to host Bill Clinton’s rally for Democratic Congressional candidate Linda Stender tomorrow.

So far, he has not heard back from either of them.

So today, Morin fired off an email, this time to Trustee Edward J. Hobbie, complaining that the college’s staff was avoiding him.

“In your capacity as a member of the Board of Trustees and vice chair of the Board of Governors of the College, I am requesting that you inquire why they are ducking me and the media on this issue and why they are allowing partisan political activity on campus when the facility use rules and regulations specifically prohibit it,” wrote Morin (Hobbie’s brother Mark responded immediately to Morin, saying that he would try to reach Edward).

Bill Clinton is coming to New Jersey because Linda Stender is trailing Leonard Lance in the race for the 7th district congressional seat.  The decision of national Democrats to dispatch Clinton to help Stender and not John Adler might be an indication of their confidence in winning the third district race.  It's noteworthy that Clinton will be in the state and not traveling the extra hour to help Adler; it seems the Democrats have made a decision that they're comforable with Adler's chances against Republican Christopher Myers.

Linda Stender trails Leonard Lance by four percentage points in her campaign's most recent internal poll, according to sources in the Stender campaign -- and confirmed by Democratic officials familiar with the 7th district campaign. Former President Bill Clinton is being dispatched to Cranford on Saturday to help boost Stender's chances to win the open House seat -- which Republicans have held continuously since 1956. 

If Linda Stender loses her race for Congress next week, New Jersey Democrats are prepared to blame Emily's List and other Washington-based organizations for her defeat, according to sources within the Stender campaign.  The seventh district House seat has been viewed as a likely pickup for Democrats, but internal polling from both campaigns is showing that Republican Leonard Lance can win the seat that Stender nearly took away from retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson two years ago.  Suddenly worried about blowing an opportunity to take a seat the GOP has held since 1956, Democrats are bringing in big guns, like former President Bill Clinton, to help Stender win.

The conventional wisdom in New Jersey -- and in Washington, where congressional races are carefully tracked -- is that New Jersey's seventh district was a likely pickup for the Democrats. But news that national Democrats are dispatching former President Bill Clinton to campaign for Linda Stender on Saturday might be interpreted as a sign that the four-term Assemblywoman has not yet closed the deal on the seat, and lends credibility to GOP claims that Republican State Sen. Leonard Lance's campaign has internal polling numbers that show him ahead by nine percentage points.  Democrats would not be sending Clinton, one of their most effective campaigners, to Central New Jersey on the weekend before the election if they weren't worried about the race.

Bill Clinton came to New Jersey the weekend before the 2006 election to stump for Bob Menendez and Linda Stender

Former President Bill Clinton will be come to New Jersey on Saturday to campaign for Assemblywoman Linda Stender’s (D-Fanwood) Congressional bid, according to a Democrat close to the campaign. The time, place and date have not yet been set, but it will be somewhere in the 7th District, where Stender is facing off against State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington).  PolitickerNJ.com will have more details as the schedule takes shape. 

CLICK HERE TO READ WALLY EDGE'S VIEW OF WHAT THE CLINTON VISIT MEANS TO THE 7TH DISTRICT RACE

A quick look at several old New Jersey presidential polls taken (mostly) in September: