As a candidate, New Jersey's governor-elect, Jon Corzine, talked a lot about setting a higher standard for ethics in government. But off the stump, he has cozied up to the Democratic political bosses who are very much part of the problem. In his choice of someone to replace him in the Senate, Mr. Corzine had an opportunity to demonstrate which side of his campaign was real. The answer came yesterday, and it was disappointing.

Mr. Corzine's pick, Representative Robert Menendez, has the experience for the job. The son of Cuban immigrants, he has steadily risen through the political ranks, becoming the third-ranking Democrat in the House. But since entering politics as a corruption-fighting mayor of Union City, N.J., Mr. Menendez has become a proponent of business as usual. He has long been an entrenched de facto leader of the Hudson County Democratic machine.

Most recently, Mr. Menendez has failed to answer questions about his relationship with Kay LiCausi, a young former aide of his. He has helped her get hundreds of thousands of dollars in lobbying contracts and political consulting work. Mr. Menendez says there is a line between his personal and public lives. But New Jersey voters have a right to wonder why that line seems to exist only to protect politicians from questioning, and never deters them from mixing their private relationships with their official duties.