Imagine that this was not a Democratic governor but, say, a Republican Vice-President:
Gov. Jon S. Corzine apologized to New Jersey residents on Monday as he left the hospital 18 days after a devastating traffic accident in which he was not wearing a seat belt and was being driven at more than 91 miles per hour on the Garden State Parkway.
"I set a very bad example," said a contrite Mr. Corzine, who broke his left femur, his sternum and 11 ribs in the accident, speaking from a wheelchair just outside Cooper University Hospital in Camden. His voice breaking with emotion, he added: "I hope the state will forgive me. I will work very hard to set the right kind of example."
And then what happened?
After the brief comments, Mr. Corzine was helped into a black GMC Savana van, with tinted windows, that he bought and had specially modified for his wheelchair, and left the hospital in a six-car caravan about 1:45 p.m. His vehicle followed a black state police Crown Victoria, and was followed by a Chevrolet Suburban - like the one he was riding in at the time of the crash - a Mercedes station wagon, and two other cars. The motorcade did not use emergency lights, as it had been just before the accident.
The governor's motorcade moved with the flow of traffic on Interstate 295, at some points sustaining speeds up to 70 miles per hour several minutes at a time, according to the speedometer of a vehicle traveling alongside; posted limits were 55 and 65.
Dick Cheney accidentally wounded a companion in a hunting accident and by the media reaction you would have thought that he had deliberately tried to murder the fellow. Corzine, on the other hand, appears to be a chronic threat to public safety, but the media scarcely takes notice. Makes you wonder about their ethics and sense of responsibility.
RLC