`Stop Whining!`

Christie Whitman has some advice for her successor, Gov. James E. McGreevey: Stop whining and get to work.

Whitman, a Republican who left the governorship to run the EPA, has been vilified by Gov. James E. McGreevey, a Democrat, who has all but called her a criminal for decisions made in her two terms.

McGreevey claims she bungled the state budget, ran up billions in debt and knowingly signed off on an electronic toll system and an auto inspection program that broke down and each cost tax payers hundreds of millions of dollars. The two also fought publicly after McGreevey said Whitman stocked the state Supreme Court with unqualified political appointees.

But enough is enough, Whitman said in an interview with The Associated Press this week. Now that McGreevey's budget worries are over, he should turn his attention to governing and end the public politicking, she said.

"He had a difficult time, no question about it. That's the hand your dealt with, you just deal with it. You don't spend your time complaining about it and it is starting to affect him," Whitman said.

McGreevey has never confronted Whitman directly, despite several personal encounters and conversations where he sought advice before his inauguration, Whitman said.

"On the surface we're very cordial," Whitman said. "Which is why I'm always shocked to read the next day (in the newspapers) that I'm the cause of all evil in the world."

McGreevey, on vacation in Florida, could not be reached for comment, spokesman Paul Aronsohn said. He called the dispute a philosophical difference.

"The sad truth is that hers is a legacy of debts, deficits, and management debacles. The people of New Jersey deserve better, and with Jim McGreevey, they're getting it," Aronsohn said.

Whitman served during boom years for New Jersey, but left office in January 2001 as the economy started spiraling.

Once elected in November, McGreevey started hammering Whitman's administration for its budget practices, charging that they intentionally inflated revenue estimates to cover increases in spending. Those budget allegations lasted months and continued even after McGreevey signed a balanced spending plan in July.

Few have come to her defense. Most GOP legislative leaders who supported her are gone. Those remaining are not likely to rebut the attacks, fearing voters will see them as the party responsible for bad decisions, political analysts said.

Others wonder what the political cost will be for Whitman or McGreevey if the feud continues.

"It has to have an effect. It's been virtually unabated since November of last year that all the evils of New Jersey have been because of Christie Whitman. It's been said and not challenged," said Tom Wilson, a former Whitman campaign manager.

Public opinion seems to be tipped against Whitman. She registered her highest unfavorable rating among statewide politicians in a recent poll, topping even Jim Florio, the former governor who became a political pariah by raising taxes 12 years ago.

"It was pretty shocking," Fairleigh Dickinson-Public Mind poll director Peter Wooley said of Whitman's showing. New Jersey voters have never forgiven Florio, but now they appear to be buying McGreevey's message, he said.

Or, they could just be telling pollsters the same thing they tried to do in two elections, where Whitman won by the slimmest of margins, Wooley said.

"I guess the story is we're really finding out that Christie was never really that popular," Wooley said.

Whatever the reason, Whitman says McGreevey should ignore it.

"A lot of this seems to be campaign mentality. The state's too big, the challenges too important, the problems are too immediate and you can't waste your time doing that," Whitman said.

In the meantime, the attacks against Whitman keep coming. And they hurt, she said.

"Of course it does because it's my record and I care about the state deeply," she said. "My home is in New Jersey and always has been and always will be and I hope the kids find ways to remain in the state. The roots go deep."

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Author: 6 ABC-AP