Editorials in New Jersey's largest newspapers gave Gov. Corzine's state of the state speech some rough reviews this morning. The gist: Tuesday was not the time for upbeat; it was time for solutions.

The Star-Ledger, under the headline "No time for a pep talk," said Corzine "did not dwell on any difficult choices that may lie ahead." It concluded: "if Corzine's budget speech in March is indeed going to call for sharp cuts, he needs to start preparing the public and lawmakers for the pain ahead."

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2009/01/corzines_state_of_the_state_wa.html#more

The Bergen Record credited Corzine with genuinely caring about improving New Jersey, but said he needed to deliver more planning, less heart warming. "We know there are students who beat the odds in urban schools and excel . . . What we don't know is how our taxes will drop, public education will be funded and our infrastructure maintained. We do not expect government to fix our lives. We do expect government to fix itself."

Alluding to November's election, The Record concludes: "Corzine said, "Change is in the air." A lot of Republicans are saying the same thing."

http://www.northjersey.com/opinion/editorials/37554594.html

The Asbury Park Press wrote, "Anyone looking for a clear idea of what Gov. Jon S. Corzine's 2009 agenda will be from his state of the state address Tuesday had to come away sorely disappointed."

http://www.app.com/article/20090114/OPINION01/901140320/1029

The Inquirer praised Corzine for his calls to suspend an development fee on new construction and said this year is largely about getting by. "It's clear in a budgetary sense that this year in Trenton will be about surviving rather than thriving. Corzine need not try to blur that reality just because it's an election year."

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20090114_Editorial__N_J__Budget.html

To be fair, state of the state speeches are typically chances for sitting governors to boast about their accomplishments and lay out an agenda - Corzine was not unique in touting his own successes. Several of the editorials noted this. And, Corzine in March will lay out his budget and specific cuts in much more detail. He said Wednesday there are still questions about how much revenue, exactly, the state will collect. He needs to know how much money the state will have before he can make firm conclusions.

He also said today that with limited money for government, there are limits to what he can propose.

But these four editorial pages apparently wanted more than the governor offered. It's not often that every major newspaper in New Jersey weighs in on the same subject on the same day. The state of the state provides one of those rare times. Today, the feedback was unusually uniform.

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