CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOKOn every election night there’s a heartbreak hotel

While the band was in full swing at Corzine headquarters, things were much more downbeat at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village

By: Emily Craighead
   Even before the polls closed, a steady stream of cars started filing into the East Brunswick Hilton hotel parking garage, and Sen. Jon Corzine’s supporters began filling the third-floor ballroom, ready for a party.
   At 8:30 p.m., as news outlets began to broadcast early returns, no one knew what to expect.
   "I’m getting nervous, Elsie, I’m really getting nervous," one woman said as she entered the hotel.
   The musical selection — U2’s "Beautiful Day," which became an anthem for John Kerry’s unsuccessful presidential campaign — was not necessarily reassuring.
   But as the evening wore on, the ballroom became more crowded, and the crowd rallied.
   Meanwhile, in the nearly empty lobby of the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village in Plainsboro, shortly after The Associated Press declared Sen. Corzine the next governor of New Jersey, a man reassured two little boys who sat by him that it wasn’t over yet.
   It was too soon to give up, he told them.
   Doug Forrester’s concession speech was about an hour away, and in the ballroom of the Forrestal Village hotel, the green and white balloons were still full of helium, but the crowd was starting to look deflated. There was music, but no one danced.
   Campaign workers handed out leftover green signs touting Mr. Forrester’s plan to cut taxes by 30 percent in three years.
   As Mr. Forrester’s family and friends filed onto the stage, the crowd fell silent, only to erupt in applause when their chosen candidate appeared.
   The applause following his gracious concession, accompanied by the requisite thank-yous, was even louder.
   The long walk through the dark parking lot took Mr. Forrester’s supporters past a forest-green bus. It will probably have to be repainted.