By ALFRED P. DOBLIN

RECORD COLUMNIST

TRAVEL BACK with me to a simpler time. The days were getting longer. Governor Corzine had not uttered those two incomprehensible words: asset monetization. Steve Lonegan had not hired day laborers. And Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joe Ferriero and state Sen. Loretta Weinberg were at DEFCON 2.

It was not quite the Cuban missile crisis, but it seemed probable that at any moment missiles would fire and there would be nothing left of the county but a parched landscape and perhaps the Stony Hill Inn. Ferriero wanted to oust at least one of Weinberg's two running mates. Assemblyman Gordon Johnson seemed the likely target.

Weinberg fought back and won. A peace settlement was brokered. It was clear what Weinberg achieved: Her running mates in the 37th District -- Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle -- stayed on the ticket. The rumors about what Ferriero got have been running high for months. I don't think he got anything -- except mad. And in the final weeks of this campaign, I think he got even.

Fast forward to today. District 37 Republican Senate candidate Clara Nibot is sitting at her computer, randomly searching for anything suspicious about the financial contributions made by Johnson. Eureka! She finds not one, not two, but seven (almost biblical when you think about it) contributions by Johnson to Lyndon LaRouche's political action committee.

I asked Nibot if someone gave her that information. She insisted that she found it all by herself. I want to believe her. She seems like a very nice person. But if Nibot found that information randomly on the Internet, I hope CBS News engages her to search for the missing pieces of George W. Bush's military service records.

A more convincing scenario is the possibility that opposition research on the Weinberg team dating back to the spring found its way into Republican hands in the fall. The practice of intra-party fighting is not novel in Bergen County. Bergen County doesn't have a problem with dogfights; partisans are breeding partisans to fight, bite and maul.

Weinberg made a surprise missile attack on Ferriero. She launched an initiative: Clean Up New Jersey. I have the press release in front of me. There is a photo of Weinberg, Gordon and Johnson at the top of the page with the caption: They're for real. As a Seinfeld devotee, I think it should have read: They're real and they're spectacular.

The trio wants an end to the wheeling and dealing of the county Democratic Party. They prepared a spreadsheet of who gets how much money from county agencies. Topping the list was Ferriero. The war just got personal.

Maybe it's a coincidence that shortly after Weinberg attacked Ferriero, the LaRouche contributions came to light. I don't think anyone envisioned the fallout from the revelation. Johnson eventually apologized, but the LaRouche camp has come to his defense, claiming that Johnson is being "lynched" by a number of people, including me.

Johnson cannot be happy with the LaRouche demonstrations. Meanwhile, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes is calling for Johnson, who is also an Englewood councilman, to resign.

None of this affects Nov. 6. Weinberg's team will win. But what happens on Nov. 7? Ferriero, whether he or the county Democratic organization fed opposition research to Republicans, is not going to let up on Johnson. He's a dual officeholder, which apparently is a problem for Ferriero in the 37th District but not in the 36th.

That inconsistency aside, the LaRouche factor is an unknown variable. If LaRouche supporters continue to advocate for Johnson, it makes it harder for Johnson to claim his association was either casual or accidental. That could lead to Johnson being forced out of the Assembly or off the Englewood council. That would pave the way for Ferriero to place his own candidate into the vacant Assembly seat. The long-awaited reassembly of Ken Zisa could be completed.

All that is speculative. What is not, though, is that the war is on. Weinberg made two tactical mistakes: First, she positioned her team as reformers who oppose dual-office holding and connected law firms grabbing public dollars. But Johnson is a dual officeholder and Huttle's husband works for one of the most politically connected law firms in North Jersey.

Second, by attacking Ferriero's private work as a lawyer, Weinberg not only opened herself to attack, but exposed her running mates.

Weinberg is a feisty, eloquent and passionate politician. She can take care of herself. Huttle and Johnson are not in the same league. They are vulnerable. Since Nov. 6 is of no consequence in this war, the missiles will continue long past Election Day.

DEFCON 1. It's real. And it will be spectacular.