Last week already suggested that August would be a bad month for the gubernatorial campaign of New Jersey Republican Chris Christie, and this piece from The New York Times isn't likely to make things any better for the candidate.

He billed himself as a corruption fighter, questioned the ethics of those in power and promised to put an end to no-bid contracts for the politically connected. But when Christopher J. Christie was elected and his reform proposal was voted down, he gave up the fight and went on to approve hundreds of such contracts, including more than 50 for contributors to his campaigns.

In the article, Christie tries to play down his failure to follow through on a ban on no-bid contracts as a rookie mistake, explaining that he is better and more seasoned now, and thus more able to make good on his current campaign pledge to clean up New Jersey. Problem is, Christie's relationship with no-bid contracts doesn't appear to have just been something from his distant past, as the campaign of Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine has reminded voters in a television spot.

Along with the news that Christie appears to have been planning his gubernatorial bid with Karl Rove while serving as U.S. Attorney -- a position intended to be removed from partisan politics -- the ongoing reports on Christie's no-bid contracts serve to undercut the image the Republican politician has tried to make of himself: One of a non-politician, a corruption fighter. But if that image goes away, and New Jersey voters begin seeing Christie as just another politician, it's going to be increasingly difficult for the Republican to win in this traditionally Democratic state.