BOB MENENDEZ

JERSEY CITY - Asked about state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) said he liked the idea.

"She is one of several people in our party who would be an excellent candidate," Menendez told PolitickernJ.com at an Obama rally on Saturday. "It's the governor's decision ultimately, of course, and I do not envy him, because there are numerous qualified people."

Other potential lieutenant governor candidates among the Democrats include Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing).

JERSEY CITY – Although the pro-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) crowd in the student center of New Jersey City University was juked with polls showing their candidate in possession of a double digit lead in Jersey, they supplied no demonstration of shock and awe support three days before Election Day.

Waiting for keynoters New York Gov. David Paterson and Gov. Jon Corzine, local politicians warmed up the proudly attentive audience.

“If you don’t stand for this man (Obama), you don’t stand for anything,” state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) cried. “Get up. Get up!”

The crowd jolted to its feet.

JERSEY CITY – In spite of McCain campaign robocalls hyping a William Ayres domestic terrorism connection, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) predicted that his colleague, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.), will secure Florida’s 27 electoral votes on Election Day.

At Obama’s request, Menendez spent Thursday and Friday campaigning in the Sunshine State, reaching out to Cuban Americans in the Miami-Dade area.

“As I campaigned I encountered people who would privately show me an Obama sticker in the palms of their hands and tell me they intend to vote for Obama, but can’t say it out loud because of peer pressure,” Menendez told PolitickerNJ.com as he stumped today for Obama in Jersey City.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez might not have received a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, but apparently he’s still poised to enhance his clout in the Senate over the next few years. As Vice Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Menendez is expected to move up to the chairmanship next year when incumbent Charles Schumer moves on after two cycles on the job. That puts the junior Senator from New Jersey into a nationally visible role for the 2010 elections – when (based on historical precedent) Menendez will either be defending seats in Barack Obama’s mid-term election, or looking to pick some up in John McCain’s.

Barack Obama shakes Bob Menendez's hand at the Democratic National Convention in Denver tonight: MSNBC Photo
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, who did not get a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, made it near the stage tonight -- he watched Joe Biden accept the vice presidential nomination from premium seats near the stage, in a box that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean, and former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle. After Barack Obama joined Biden on the stage, he made his way over and shook hands with the junior Senator from New Jersey.

To U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), the lack of any primetime speakers at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions is just another example of both parties using the Garden State cash machine before abandoning the state to its own devices.

“I think it was an insult to the state of New Jersey because a lot of money comes out of this state for both political parties, and a lot of support for both political parties. So there’s no excusing it,” he said.

Responding to a Star-Ledger report that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) was eventually offered a speaking spot but turned it down because it wasn’t primetime, Pascrell quickly responded that they only offered it “after the fact.”

Danny O’Brien, who was just hired as Sen. Bob Menendez’s new chief of staff in May, faces a happy predicament.

O’Brien, a native of southern California with deep political roots in New Jersey, spent three-and-a-half years as Sen. Joe Biden’s chief of staff before moving on to Menendez. Before Biden, he was chief of staff for former Senator Robert Toricelli, and worked on former Gov. Jim McGreevey’s 2001 gubernatorial campaign.

Now, having just started his job with Menendez, it’s easy to see him being recruited to the executive branch if Barack Obama and Joe Biden win the general election. But as of right now, he has no plans to change jobs.

“I have no plans to make any changes right now. I’m lucky to be working for Senator Menendez,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, won't speak at the convention: Getty Images Photo
DENVER -- Senator Bob Menendez will not speak at the Pepsi Center during the Democratic National Convention, despite the lobbying by fellow influential New Jersey politicians on his behalf.

Menendez was the New Jersey’s delegation’s hope to place one of their own in the spotlight. Politicians were banking on his Latino appeal.

When asked by reporters whether he felt snubbed, Menendez responded said that he didn’t.

“The bottom line is, look, different conventions, different people speak. Speaking is not important. Winning is important.”

Michelle Obama addresses the opening session of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver: Getty Images Photo

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U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who so far has not been asked to speak at the Democratic National Convention this week, has one potentially important ally in his quest for a speaking slot.  His new Chief of Staff, Danny O’Brien, has spent the last few years as the Chief of Staff to U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, leaving the Senate staff to become National Political Director of Biden’s bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.