"Dude, Who Stole My Transition Funds?"

That's gotta be the question that Governor-elect Chris Christie is asking himself today - or, as is the case, he is asking the public:

Gov.-elect Chris Christie stopped by the Jim Gearhart show on 101.5 FM radio and dropped a bomb: There are no transition funds. He told the morning radio legend: “Interestingly, the state didn’t fund the transition. They didn’t put any money in the budget for a transition so we need to talk about making sure that we get that squared away.”

Four years ago there was $250,000 for the Codey transition out of the governor’s office. And $250,000 for Corzine to transition in. Incidentally, a lot less was spent than was budgeted. So, what happened here?

"What happened here?" is a famous question in New Jersey, usually asked when unidentified bodies surface in fetid swamps, when bribed officials are feigning ignorance, or after discovering that a whole lot of taxpayer money has suddenly vanished.

So - what happened here? Was Corzine so confident in victory that he did not budget transition funds? Did he move that money into a different, glaring hole in the budget, with the intent of moving it back to himself after his re-election? Or was this a last-minute switcheroo? With late-breakers leaning Christie pre-election, did Corzine maliciously move money out of the transition fund and into someone else's pocket?

Like many of the lifeless bodies that wash up upon on these shores, we may never know the true story. I'm sure Chris Christie will manage the transition just fine, even if some private contributors or the RNC need to help finance the changeover.

Let's just hope that under the new Christie administration, such crass budget gimmickry will be a thing of the past....