Spin vs. spun

Thursday’s indictment of former Newark Deputy Mayor Ron Salahudddin may yet prove to be a blow (or not) to the Cory Booker reelection campaign, but the mayor’s response to the announcement is something Booker’s buddy, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, might’ve been wise to study. If only the U.S. Attorney’s office had announced the Sullahadin indictment earlier, Healy could’ve studied the tape. (But you can’t control the timing of a corruption investigation, can you?)

Booker’s mess, if there is one, is nowhere near as widespread as Healy’s, but Brick City’s mayor came out quickly with a strong denunciation of the alleged crime and alleged criminal, taking to Twitter, You Tube and Facebook within hours of the announcement. “We found out about it last year, and we parted way with [Sullahadin] immediately,” the mayor told reporters at city hall, adding, “We then joined and cooperated with the investigation.”

Back in July, when the U.S. Attorney rounded up “the 44,” Healy was a virtual no show,  issuing a press release and then telling us “it’s an ongoing investigation, etc.,” a song he sings to this very day.

Salahuddin, too, was forceful in his denial. He said he had voluntarily taken a lie detector test and had passed, specifically answering truthfully on questions that asked if he had taken bribes. (Would that it were that easy, Ron.)

Of course, unlike with the Jersey City case, the mayor of Newark was not the ultimate target of the investigation, which might explain a little bit of why Booker could afford to be so vociferous in his denunciation. One could argue that the difference between the two mayors’ responses is a perfect analogy of where the two administrations are heading. One responds by kicking ass and taking names, and the other can’t comment because – well you know.