FACE TIME: ABSENT

Each week in Face Time, NJBIZ editors approximate Chris Christie's mood and facial expressions based on the news.


The wailing all came to a head while Christie was in Israel. There's little faith in the covenant to pair Rutgers and Rowan, Amex defied his commandment on gift card escheatment and the Ledger accused him of being so covetous of conservative credentials that he turned to ALEC for bills. The burning bushes have become raging home fires.

David Snow – WINNER
Medco's chief is finally able to turn the reins over to Express Scripts for a whopping $32 billion, over the concerns of critics who say the deal will kill any sense of competition from the marketplace.

Greg Brown – LOSER
The chance for him to find a new president for Rutgers could have been a great opportunity for the school. Instead, candidates have to be asking themselves why, exactly, they'd want to inherit a Camden street brawl with Lautenberg, Norcross, Sweeney, et al. over Rowan.

Shlomo Yanai – WINNER
The outgoing Teva Pharmaceutical CEO got a sit-down with Christie on the governor's Israeli voyage, and Christie hinted that the company may further bolster its New Jersey presence as a result — Teva already employs several hundred in two North Jersey offices.

George Norcross – LOSER
In the headlines, he got goaded into a public shoving match with the eldest of elder statesmen and was called out by the state comptroller for collecting a whopping referral fee from DRPA. And now, Philadelphia journalists are worried he'll be able to rewrite those headlines.

Robert Griffin – WINNER
The Taj Mahal's CEO scores big points from us self-deprecating journalists for advertising on billboards along the Atlantic City Expressway that his hotel rooms boast the city's most impressive view of the $2.4 billion Revel.

Frank Lautenberg – LOSER
An interesting time for the incumbent senator to stick his nose into Camden. Christie and Sweeney wasted no time painting him as an out-of-touch old-timer who ought to stick to the issues he fully understands. Should Lautenberg run in 2014, this one will come back to bite him.