Failing to 'get it'

Here it is time for the July 4th holiday festivities, but that hasn't stopped our letter writers from expressing their opinions. The budget stalemate is the top story, with nearly all the writers voicing dismay at the lack of leadership in Trenton.

These writers "get it'' in ways the legislators do not: They want to see the budget balanced with more spending cuts, not with any new taxes -- however disguised. The lawmakers are lucky they don't face the public until November 2007. They hope that maybe by then, the electorate will forget about this leadership void. But from the tone of the letters, these folks aren't apt to forget.

Then there's Attorney General Zulima Farber's latest embarrassment for the Corzine administration involving her trooper-chauffeured appearance at a police checkpoint where her boyfriend was stopped for driving an unregistered vehicle. Somehow, the ticket was voided, although Farber says she had nothing to do with it. Again our writers "get it.'' They are astonished that Farber doesn't see that her mere presence influenced the outcome. It's another instance of a public official believing he or she is above the law, our writers say. That's a terrible thing to conclude about the state's top law enforcement official.