Rookie mistake by New Jersey state senator Barbara Buono yesterday, in her debate with the heavily favored (no, that’s not a pun) incumbent, Governor Chris Christie. When a debate moderator asks you if there’s anything about your opponent you like, emulate Eli Lake and say that you love their passion, or offer some other generic compliment about the opponent’s personal qualities that concedes no ground on policy. Don’t get snarky or sarcastic.
Unfortunately, Buono figured out what she had done too late — you can see it as her smile fades: