Though Gov. Jon Corzine (D) doesn't seem to be personally involved at all, it would seem that today's arrest of several New Jersey state and municipal officials on bribery charges can only add to the incumbent's woes.

"New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst, if not the worst in the nation," Ed Kahrer of the FBI said today. "Corruption is not only pervasive, it has become ingrained in New Jersey's political culture."

Corzine has pursued tougher ethics standards in his first term, but combine the fact that this went on on his watch and the crime-busting image that Republican Chris Christie burnished as U.S. attorney, and you see how what was already an uphill race just got tougher. The governor had to pull out of a scheduled conference call with so-called grassroots donors to the Democratic Governors Association because of the news.

"Any corruption is unacceptable - anywhere, anytime, by anybody," Corzine said in a statement. "The scale of corruption we're seeing as this unfolds is simply outrageous and cannot be tolerated."

He asked for the resignation of a Cabinet member, Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria, after his home was raided. Christie released a statement calling on one of the Republican officials involved, state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, to resign.

"Now more than ever, New Jersey needs elected officials who are committed to honesty, integrity and a higher standard of ethics," he said. "Assemblyman Van Pelt has failed the people he was elected to serve and has violated their trust. He has no other choice but to resign immediately and allow the people of Ocean County to elect an official who will put the people before personal self-interest." 

Asked about the developments at an event today, Christie chose not to make overt political hay.

"I can't see this day in a political context," he said, according to PolitickerNJ.com. "This matter started while I was at the U.S. Attorney's office, and as I found out this morning while it was culminating, I can only think of it in terms of what it means in a law enforcement perspective. There will be others who can judge this politically. ... But today, candidly, given all the hard work that I know went into this by the prosecutors and FBI, I'm having trouble getting myself out of that mode."