"With Republicans unable to land a top-tier candidate, the real action is in the Democratic primary, and two new polls show Booker with a huge early lead.
According to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll, Booker leads Rep. Frank Pallone 55 percent to 9 percent, with Rep. Rush Holt bringing up the rear at 8 percent.
And a new Quinnipiac University poll shows very much the same picture, with Booker at 53 percent, Holt at 10 percent and Pallone at 9 percent."
Living as close to Newark as I do and driving or taking the train through it as often as I do, I've seen not only the parts of Newark that gave it its reputation but also the changes taking place block-by-block, day-by-day. The fact that Newark just completed its first calendar month without a murder is remarkable.
This is a beaten up city that has been the butt of jokes for so many years, including the line from the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam, where Robin Williams' character is talking to troops headed into hostile territory and he tells them to be careful because "It's dangerous out there. It's like Newark after dark." (And that is a film set in 1965, a year before the last time Newark went an entire calendar month without a homicide.)
