Hoping to spare his party an embarrassing defeat in one of the year's most closely watched elections, President Barack Obama campaigned Wednesday evening alongside Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, saying that a Democratic victory in the state would help the president carry out the political change he was elected to bring to Washington. Corzine is the first incumbent governor to seek re-election since the economic crisis hit last fall and is locked in a tight race with the Republican nominee, Christopher J. Christie, who has blasted Corzine for New Jersey's rising taxes and unemployment. But Obama told a crowd of more than 3,000 at Fairleigh Dickinson University that it is unfair to blame Corzine for a global recession that has battered every state in the nation. And he praised Corzine for helping mitigate the pain the downturn has inflicted on middle-class families by preserving funding for education and health care and making New Jersey one of the first states to start its own economic stimulus plan. 'For the last four years, you've had a leader who's put the interests of hard-working New Jersey families ahead of the special interests,' he said, calling Corzine one of the 'best partners I have in the White House.' Obama also accused Republicans of 'selective memory' by ignoring the fact that the economy collapsed during the final month of George W. Bush's presidency, and warned that Christie would reimpose the same 'trickle down' economic policies that led to the downturn. 'They made the mess, and now they're complaining about how fast we're cleaning it up,' Obama said, bringing a roar of laughter and applause from the crowd. Corzine was clearly buoyed by the support from Obama, who won New Jersey handily last fall and remains highly popular. Speaking before the president, Corzine promised to be brief 'because I know who you're here to see,' and used the joint appearance to align himself closely with Obama's policies. Corzine said that, like Obama, he had fought for expanded health care programs, and increased funding for early education and alternative energy. 'I'm proud to be President Obama's partner in building a better America and certainly a better New Jersey,' he said. The appearance was part of a political blitz for Obama, who appeared in New York on Tuesday to raise more than $3 million for two Democrats and was scheduled to stump in Massachusetts and Virginia next week. Christie was careful not to criticize Obama, but said that New Jersey voters were savvy enough to judge Corzine on his own record. 'Air Force One is leaving tonight,' he said in a television appearance on Wednesday. 'If they vote for Jon Corzine, President Obama isn't moving in to run the state.' Corzine's political fortunes have improved considerably since Obama's first campaign appearance on his behalf in June. For much of the spring and summer, Christie held a double-digit lead in the polls, and some Democrats openly wondered whether the governor should be replaced at the top of the state party's ticket. But Corzine has used his financial advantage to close the gap in recent weeks, and one key factor in the Nov. 3 election will be his ability to motivate the 600,000 first-time voters who cast ballots for Obama last year. With the Democrats' prospects having grown dimmer in Virginia -- the only other gubernatorial race this fall -- a procession of Obama aides and administration officials have come to New Jersey to bolster Corzine in recent weeks -- including Vice President Joe Biden and Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Obama. Obama urged audience members to rekindle the verve they felt during his own campaign last year and rally behind Corzine, and he tried to make a virtue of the governor's image as an unpolished politician. Conceding that Corzine's 'frizzy' hair and 'scraggly beard' were the antithesis of the slick politician, Obama said that the governor been an honorable public servant with the courage to level with the public about the problems ahead. 'I'm going to ask you to cast aside the cynics and the skeptics and show that leaders who do what's right and what's hard are rewarded and not rejected,' Obama said. Earlier in the day, Obama arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport without incident. But on Tuesday, Secret Service officials said that they arrested a private security guard and charged him with making threats to harm the president. 