Scheduling His Return

Gov. Corzine is getting up and about with forearm crutches and not a walker. That's a good sign that he's getting more mobile on a daily basis. Corzine will be the one to determine when he resumes his duties as governor.

He's expected to leave the hospital in the next few days and begin recuperating at home along with the painful rehabilitation and physical therapy needed. That means three hours a day, seven days a week for the first two weeks, and then additional physical therapy for the following two to three months.

It seems that Gov. Codey has had quite a bit of experience running New Jersey, notwithstanding his prior stint as Governor after the McGreevey disaster. Corzine spent about 25% of the time out of the state, leaving Gov. Codey in charge pursuant to state law.

The practice is now in play as the governor recovers from serious car crash injuries and has turned his post over to Senate President Richard Codey.

Between his 2006 inauguration and his April 12 accident, the governor left someone else in charge 111 out of 450 days.

Corzine made official trips to Washington, to Asia for a trade mission and meetings with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The multimillionaire governor also spent long weekends in Europe and the Hamptons on Long Island, and took longer vacations in Telluride, Colorado, Italy and Saint Bart's.

In other words, Codey has gotten quite comfortable being in charge during Corzine's recuperation since he's had so much experience during the past year.

Of course, the questions about how New Jersey governors are transported around the state continues. Some wonder why he didn't use a state helicopter, or why the vehicle was being driven at an excessive speed (91 mph in the moments before the crash).

I don't want to limit the governor and how he or she travels around the state. New Jersey, like New York, has had scandals over how frequently the governor used the state helicopters, and to what end. That's limited how some have used that mode of transportation. Weather also limits how and when you can fly, so driving will continue to be a major way the governor gets around the state.

However, rules over how fast the drivers can take the governor will probably be revised - and requirements that all occupants in the vehicle be wearing seat belts will probably be strictly enforced, even against the habitual offender Corzine (who should have known better given that he was among the sponsors of more stringent seat belt laws).

According to an Associated Press survey of governor travel policies nationwide, drivers - who are state law enforcement officials - are expected to obey traffic and safety laws and not to speed or use warning lights because their bosses are running late or want to get somewhere quicker.

However, drivers are typically allowed to speed and use flashers in emergencies. In some states, they are allowed to speed to avoid security risks that may come with standing idle in traffic.

New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner on Thursday convened an independent panel to examine the state police detail that drives and protects the governor.

``What they'll review as part of their post-incident assessment is the background, the qualifications, the record, the work experience in security protection and the training of the overall operation,'' said G. Michael Verden, a retired secret service agent who specializes in executive protection with Hillard Heintze LLC in Chicago.

``The end game is you never want to see this incident occur again,'' he said.

After all, the general public is regularly chastised to slow down and that you save only a few minutes by speeding, along with increasing the possibility of accidents. Those same guidelines apply to a governor and his staff when not heading to an emergency situation.

UPDATE:
It appears that Corzine will be released from the hospital tomorrow afternoon, and will head to the governor's mansion to recuperate, though his return to work isn't set.

Gov. Jon Corzine will leave Cooper University Hospital tomorrow, his spokesman, Anthony Coley said tonight.

It is unclear, though, when the governor plans to resume his official duties.

Doctors expect to discharge Corzine from the hospital in Camden at about 1:30 p.m., Coley said. He has been hospitalized for 19 days, since being rushed there by medevac helicopter from the scene of a devastating car crash on the Garden State Parkway.

Corzine is expected to be moved to Drumthwacket, the governor's official residence in Princeton, where he will spend the next several months undergoing intensive rehabilitation. The governor was up and walking this weekend on forearm crutches, Coley said.