Today could be a turning point in the New Jersey's governor's race. A new poll out this morning shows the power of money and the danger of not giving the people what they want.

With property taxes that are the highest in the nation, New Jersey voters want to hear a responsible and reasonable plan for getting that under control. They haven't heard one yet from Republican nominee Chris Christie and his lead is shrinking.

With 34 days to go in New Jersey, Christie's lead over incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine has been cut from 10 points to four, according to a new survey from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Christie now leads Corzine by just 43-39 percent, with 12 percent of the vote going to Independent candidate Chris Daggett.

On September 1, Christie led Corzine and Daggett by 47-37-7 percent.

Creigh Deeds can't possibly be a happy camper today.

Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial nominee hoped this week to be basking in the warm afterglow of a major endorsement by a popular and successful former governor of the Commonwealth.

And while it is true that Deeds spent part of his morning basking in the warmth of an endorsement by a popular former governor of the Commonwealth, it was not the right former governor.

Instead, this morning he was standing at the Clarendon Metro stop, glad-handing commuters as they brushed past him on their way to work, standing there with ... with ... with the father-in-law of the Democratic National Committee chairman.

Members of the NOVABizPAC -- the official political action committee of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce -- must get their Washington Posts delivered at oh-dark-thirty.

I assume this, because no sooner had this morning's Post been delivered than the NOVABizPAC released this statement endorsing Republican nominee Bob McDonnell for Governor.

Said NOVABizPAC Chair Fran Fisher in the release: "Mr. McDonnell earned the support of NOVABizPAC because of his overall stronger support for the Fairfax County Chamber's priorities, specifically for identifying a plan for transportation." (emphasis added)

So much for Democratic gubernatoril nominee Creigh Deeds' Washington Post op-ed, in which he laid out his plan to raise taxes to provide funding for transportation needs.

Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Creigh Deeds, must be color blind -- he apparently cannot tell the difference between lavender and royal blue.

I just read his suicidal op-ed in this morning's Washington Post, in which, Walter Mondale-like, he acknowledges his desire to raise taxes. That kind of bold play may once have worked in deep blue states where liberal electorates prefer their liberal candidates to campaign on who's going to raise taxes higher ... but in a reddish-bluish-lavender state in play?

Not so much.

This is one of the most awkward, painful, and funny candidate encounters with a press gaggle I've ever seen.

It's awkward, because it takes so long to figure out why the candidate insists on engaging in a virtual Abbott and Costello routine with the reporters; painful, because you know as you watch that it's just going to end badly; and funny, because, well ... watch it yourself, and see what I mean.

Captured immediately following Thursday's Virginia gubernatorial debate before the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, the video clip is going to be used in candidate training schools for years to come -- as an example of how not to deal with the press.

Is New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine quietly encouraging state and national Democratic donors to fund his Independent challenger, Chris Daggett?

If not, he should be.

Recent polls -- including this one, released today by Public Policy Polling, a polling outfit that polls mostly for Democrats -- make clear that Daggett, running as an Independent candidate, has very little chance of winning the election on November 3.

Daggett won't be able to win because in New Jersey's current media environment, he won't be well enough known to capture the votes of the 650,000-750,000 people he'd need to win a split three-way race.

To the uninitiated observer, the announcement last week by New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts that he would forego reelection and give up his leadership of the state assembly seemingly would be virtually guaranteed to create distress in the camp of incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.

After all, leadership vacancies tend to create leadership fights, and leadership fights in the middle of general elections typically drain time and attention from the larger campaigns going on around them.

In this case, in particular, Roberts' announcement will most definitely cause disturbance -- it has already created a chain reaction leading to contested leadership fights in not one, but both bodies of the state legislature.

But, ironically, the Roberts announcement may well end up helping, rather than hurting, Corzine ... precisely because it sets in motion that chain reaction of contested leadership fights.

Even more ironic is the fact that Corzine -- who was never able to form good relationships with his own party's leaders in either chamber of the state legislature -- could, should he emerge victorious on November 3, end up owing his reelection to men with whom he never got along, and for whom his reelection was never anything more than a byproduct of a larger and more important political struggle.

One week ago this morning, Roberts -- a Democrat from Camden County, and a close ally of former Camden County Democratic Party chairman George Norcross -- surprised local, state, and national Democratic Party leaders with his retirement announcement, and set tongues a-wagging.

In New Jersey, independent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett is up with his first television ad of the general election campaign — a humorous spot that uses two look-alikes to make its point about Republican challenger Chris Christie and Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine.

The ad was produced by Bill Hillsman of North Woods Advertising, who famously produced ads for Jesse Ventura’s successful 1998 independent campaign for Minnesota governor and Paul Wellstone’s campaigns for U.S. Senate.

There’s just one question — did Daggett pay Hillsman full price for creative on the spot? Because it sure looks an awful lot like another spot, seen here on YouTube.

Hmmm.

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Two things of import happened today in New Jersey's contest to choose its next governor:

First, a new survey by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute shows GOP challenger Chris Christie has widened his lead over incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine from six points to 10 in the last three weeks.

Second, the Christie campaign rolled out the biggest endorsement gun in its arsenal -- former Governor Tom Kean, who ruled New Jersey from 1982-1990, and who is still revered as an old school gentleman in a state where at least some voters still think manners matter.