President campaigns in New Jersey

CAMDEN, N.J. — In a final campaign swing on behalf of the only governor seeking re-election this fall, President Obama on Sunday went to bat for New Jersey Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, locked in a tight race with GOP candidate Chris Christie.

A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll released Sunday found Christie backed by 43 percent of likely voters and Corzine by 42 percent.

Obama drew 6,500 people at a rally in Camden and an additional 11,000 later in Newark, according to White House estimates. A Corzine loss would be seen as a political embarrassment for the White House.

Obama's visit to New Jersey on Sunday was his third to stump for Corzine.

New Jersey's sputtering economy (unemployment is 10 percent) has helped to depress Corzine's poll numbers and created uneasiness among Democrats nationally about a state they have carried in presidential contests since 1992.

Christie, undeterred by Obama's appeal, barnstormed Sunday in Bergen County, the state's most populous county, and in Republican strongholds like Toms River and Morristown where he was joined by Rep. Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who yelled "You lie!" at Obama on the House floor.

Obama tried to rebut Christie's attacks on the governor over the state's economic problems, saying the Republican supported policies that contributed to the nation's continuing financial woes.

"Listening to Jon's opponent, you'd think New Jersey was the only state going through a tough time right now," Obama said. "I have something to report: We have the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. By the way, that didn't start under Jon's watch, that didn't start on my watch."

Limbaugh says Obama is 'in over his head'

Rush Limbaugh lobbed pot shots across the airwaves Sunday at President Obama — "immature, inexperienced, in over his head," offering the country "radical leadership" and laying siege to the economy.

Limbaugh was the lone guest, interviewed from his home in Palm Beach, Fla., on the hourlong "Fox News Sunday," a network the Obama administration has labeled as the voice of the far-right wing of the Republican Party.

Limbaugh said Obama's swift rise to the White House after "a five-minute career" makes him a "man-child president."

"I think he's got an out-of-this-world ego. He's very narcissistic. And he's able to focus all attention on him all the time. That description is simply a way to cut through the noise and say he's immature, inexperienced, in over his head," Limbaugh said.

White House chief political strategist David Axelrod swung away later in the morning from Chicago on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"I think it's a surreal day when you're getting lectures on humility from Rush Limbaugh. ... The fact is that he is an entertainer. The president has to run the country," Axelrod said.

Limbaugh called Obama's surprise, middle-of-the-night trip last week to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to observe the return of 18 flag-covered cases holding the remains of Americans killed in Afghanistan "a photo op."

The health-care legislation Obama is pressing is not so much about insuring the uninsured, he maintains, as it is in seizing power for the government.

"This is about stealing one-sixth of the U.S. private sector and putting it under the control of federal government," Limbaugh said. "And when they get this health-care bill, if they do, that's the easiest, fastest way for them to be able to regulate every aspect of human behavior, because it will all have some related cost to health care — what you drive, what you eat, where you live, what you do "

Former GOP candidate in N.Y. backs Democrat

ALBANY, N.Y. — A day after Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava abruptly suspended her campaign for a New York congressional seat, she announced Sunday she's endorsing the Democrat in the race — not the Conservative Party candidate favored by fellow Republicans.

Scozzafava said Democrat Bill Owens would be better at building on the legacy of Republican John McHugh, who previously represented the 23rd Congressional District. McHugh vacated the seat after accepting a position in the Obama administration as secretary of the Army. The special election to replace him is scheduled for Tuesday.

A recent Siena College poll showed Scozzafava finishing a distant third behind Owens and conservative Doug Hoffman. Big-name Republicans including Sarah Palin and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson threw their support behind Hoffman.

The race pitted conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party. Hoffman painted Scozzafava as too liberal, specifically noting her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Seattle Times news services