Christie's Running Mate: 'The Key Issue Is Not Mammograms, It's Taxes, Taxes, Taxes'

In yet another sign that the Christie campaign is having trouble handling the issue of insurance company coverage of mammograms, Christie's running mate had a somewhat awkward response to the issue: This election isn't about mammograms, it's about taxes.

The candidates for Lt. Governor of New Jersey -- Republican Kim Guadagno, Democrat Loretta Weinberg and independent Frank Esposito -- met for a debate last night. Guadagno, as Christie's running mate, responded to the issue by saying: "The key issue is not mammograms, it's taxes, taxes, taxes."

The problem here is that trying to de-emphasize the issue of mammograms doesn't fully answer the central problem -- that Corzine has been attacking Christie's support of cheaper, mandate-free insurance policies that would not be required by state law to cover certain procedures. Corzine has gained a lot of ground among women voters by arguing that this would leave them vulnerable to having mammogram coverage taken away by insurance companies.

For a taste of how fun New Jersey politics can be, check out this segment in which the candidates were asked about negative campaigning -- which then turned into a discussion on Christie's traffic violations and car accidents (and his habit of getting off very lightly in those cases), and even his weight.

When asked whether a recent Corzine ad contained any veiled messages about Christie's weight, Weinberg said there was nothing "overt" about them, and also added with a touch of humility: "I don't think there's too many of us in this race who could make it into the finals of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette."

Guadagno cited Christie's long record in public service: "In terms of Chris' weight, I think the cat's out of the bag."