Corzine's Cheese Moves Off Wall Street

Corzine’s Cheese Moves Off Wall Street
by Rebekah Husted

In 2000, when Jon Corzine first ran for governor of New Jersey, his résumé seemed stellar. His years as chairman of Goldman Sachs (as well as the fortune he earned while on Wall Street) boded well for his ability to handle the states’ finances.

Then the economy went south. Goldman Sachs was cast as the villain in the country’s fiscal tragedy. Suddenly, faced with a fiscal crisis and a reelection campaign, Corzine’s résumé is tainted by the very accomplishments that recommended him only a few years ago.

To put the situation into the language of Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese?, Corzine’s cheese has been moved by the hand of fate (or perhaps by his and his Wall Street associates’ mismanagement). Corzine and his advisors are now faced with a decision. They can remain mired in the past like Hem in the story, scrounging for moldy crumbs, reliving the glory days and lamenting the circumstances, or they can venture out into the future like the wiser Haw, accepting that times have changed and reacting to that change. In a business like politics, where staying current and connected to voters is the key to success, it is fairly clear which choice would be more profitable.

Of course, even if the governor’s campaign does decide to move on – as they seem to have done – success is anything but certain. Corzine’s past and his association with a now discredited and loathed organization will not disappear. Indeed, his current opponent is unlikely to let voters forget. However, staying in the past, harping on accomplishments that now only condemn him, will guarantee failure. Only by moving on, taking a risk and following the cheese can Corzine hope to win reelection.

Photo: Jon Corzine and Henry Paulson, co-chairmen of Goldman Sachs in 1998. Associated Press photo via nytimes.com.