Christie offers praise for Obama, and I offer praise for Christie
I said yesterday in one of the Hurricane threads that, while I detest the politics of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) otherwise, I find his response and handling of disasters to be spot on. His assholish schtick is exactly what is needed during these disasters, for there are always idiots who stay behind, ignore warnings, and then get in trouble requiring rescue, risking even more lives. These assholes who never listen to authorities need to be treated, publicly, like assholes, and Chris Christie does that, early and often. And I like it.
Since his state has been ground zero for the landfall of Hurricane Superstorm Sandy, Governor Christie has been all over the national media last night and today. He just spoke to Matt Lauer this morning, and when Lauer asked about the competence and efficiency of the federal response, Christie said it’s been “great,” noting that he spoke directly to President Obama at midnight and FEMA again this morning. Christie said Obama “has been outstanding.” On CBS, Christie said “cooperation from the president of the United States has been outstanding. He deserves great credit.”
Yesterday, on our local news out of Philadelphia, during a news conference in the late afternoon, Christie had this to say: “[The President] told me that if, at any point over the next 48 hours, I was not getting something from the federal government that I should call him directly at the White House and that he was going to be there. And I should just not worry about dealing with anybody else, call him. So I appreciate that call from the president. It was very proactive. And I appreciate that type of leadership.”
Lawrence O’Donnell said yesterday on MSNBC after the President’s press statement that the campaign for the White House has effectively ended a week early, given that news of this disaster, and especially the news out of New York this morning, will dominate the coverage for the rest of the week. Both candidates are going to be hard pressed to be political. For one candidate, it is because to do so would be unseemly and craven. For the other, it is because he has more important issues to attend to, like handling this crisis and coordinating disaster response among the various states affected. It really does put Romney, the former candidate I was talking about, in a difficult situation, especially when a popular Republican and nationally known Governor is offering spontaneous and effusive praise for the President in his handling of this situation.
What I like about Christie is that he really doesn’t do politics. His policies may not be popular but he doesn’t play party politics. He gave credit to Obama because Obama deserved credit. A politician would have been more sensitive to the message he was sending this close to the election. Maybe what I am saying is that Christie isn’t a politician. He’s a governor who intends to govern and being Chistie, he is going to piss a lot of people off, but you’ll always knows what he thinks and feels. He’s not going to mince words. That can wear thin, but sometimes it’s pretty refreshing.
I agree Dave. It’s one of the reasons I don’t think he will ever run for President if the current GOP base remains as it is.
I was just saying the same thing yesterday. Although I am by no means a fan of Chris Christie, during Sandy I was kind of wishing he was my governor.
Can you please knock off this bromance with Chris Christie? I think I just threw up a little. Thank you.
He is a UD grad.
Chris Christie does indeed do politics which you might know if you were a NJ teacher. The fact that he doesn’t suffer fools who don’t pay attention to their own best interests is fine and decent medicine for the people who always want to stay in harms way. He has the habit of praising the Obama Adminisration when he thinks it is appropriate (he is still the Governor of a Blue State),but make no mistake he does do politics.
And while we are here praising people, I want to make sure that Governor Markell, Lt. Gov. Matt Denn and all of the emergency people around Delaware get their own shout out. This response was professionally and well thought out and run. And even though he doesn’t get in front of the national cameras the way that Christie or Bloomberg does, one of the reasons in this case is probably because all of that planning and execution didn’t give the media much to talk about. Well done, everyone.
“Although I am by no means a fan of Chris Christie, during Sandy I was kind of wishing he was my governor.”
And why is that? You think he’s so full of hot air he could exhale and shift the winds to a different direction?
I totally dislike Christie. I think he is an insulting offensive bully. I think his abusive style toward others stems from the fear that his ideas have no intellectual heft. Don’t be deceived by his praise for Obama now. As voting day approaches, his praise will transmute into criticism and probably about the pace and substance of the disaster relief. He is, after all, a Republican. Without villification of their opponents and mendacity about them, Republicans usually don’t have a credible argument.
I think Christie is a political pragmatist. That’s why he didn’t run for President this year. He knows that the chances of defeating an incumbent President are slim. As Cassandra noted, NJ is a blue state and he needs to appear at least somewhat bipartisan ahead of next year’s election. He’s accomplished that by praising both Mayor Booker and President Obama.
Christie is arguably the Republican frontrunner for President for 2016 if it’s an open seat. I don’t think he’ll be all that upset when Romney loses next week.
Well perhaps to many folks, everything is political. What he did (with the collaboration of the NJ Democratic-controlled legislature)was get a bill passed that overhauled the state’s tenure law, which from what I understand, was over a hundred years old. I suppose if one were a NJ teacher that may or may not be advantageous. But he is getting paid to govern. That sounds like governance. If the NY teachers like what he did they probably would not describe it as “political”
I’m not a fan of Christie, but he is not a favorite of the hard right. He get’s points for that in my view.
Excellent thread Delaware Dem
I think Christie has decided to start his run for 2016. If Hillary really isnt going to do it, (hopefully because she will be on the SCOTUS) The dems have a shallow (or no real) bench. I think he is the most likely republican to win NJ, PA (with the south philly vote) and possibly New York.
“I think Christie has decided to start his run for 2016. ”
Christie will take a helicopter to 2015 and take a limo the rest of the way.
If Christie is running in 2016, he needs to throw Romney under the bus, and now.
Maybe that’s what he’s doing… in a clever way.
I would be embarrassed to have him as a governor. You can make a point without being rude and offensive, which respectful people do.
I would PAY to see Christie at a Sussex GOP meeting
He would est them alive,
Heard a new term today.
Bodenweiser christian= a sussex republican who wears chruch going on their sleve but is known to be a hypocrite
Love it!
That’s the most common characteristic of Sussex County Christian Conservatives – hypocrisy. They profess to be Christians and publicly demonstrate their holiness. But, they are filled with hate, for the “other.” That is, everything other than what they are; other than what they believe; other than what they want; other than what they think. Not content with polite disagreement, with a sneer they employ epithets, uttering (writing) each word as if it were a sword they intend to slay you with. Their arguments have no content; no solutions; and no credibility. Probably they know that and so they resort to spewing invectives, branding everyone who disagrees with them with their equivalent of a scarlet letter. Their God is not the God I was raised to know and I bet if you took a poll (and received honest answers) the majority believe that Sandy was retribution from God for everything these “Christians” believe is wrong with America. The problem is, it’s them that is wrong with America.
you are so right, so right
and they think they are winning because their voices are more strident and loud than yours or mine
they tend to travel in packs and gang up and attack anything that is different – wanting to rip it to pieces
well, if they all go the way of Vance, Urqhart, Bodenweiser et al pretty soon they will mostly be out – BE out
bought out, sold out, bred out, die out, moved out, cut out I dont care – just get out
yep – Bodenweiser Christians – loved it!
The problem with the Christian Taliban, like those in Sussex County and elsewhere, is that they lack the capacity to know when they are wrong. In their narrow insular world, any outcome proves the correctness of their position. If they prevail, that’s a demonstration of their correctness. If they lose, that also means they are correct. It proves that in a fallen and sinful world people tend to resist the truth, a truth that conveniently only the Christian Taliban have a monopoly on.
“they tend to travel in packs”
Interesting observation. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but that seems like that is the case. Pack behavior. it never occurred to me that is what they are – a pack. So, who is the alpha member of the pack in Sussex County? Or are there several alphas? They clearly exhibit that type of behavior with no deviation from pack behavior being tolerated and no independent thought.
“is that they lack the capacity to know when they are wrong.”
In their mind they have no need of that capacity since God is on their side, they can never be wrong! That’s the beauty and simplicity of their belief system. It requires no conscious thought, discernment, reasoning and other brain dependent process that set man apart from the lesser creatures.
Bodenweiser’s “faith” apparently allowed him to completely disassociate himself from his previous behavior as if he were suffering from amnesia. And maybe faith-based amnesia is the reason the council members can publicly prayer at council meetings while having relationships at the Apple Scrapple festival.
For the record, I am Catholic and I believe in God but my God isn’t the Christian Taliban God that wants to implement a Christian form Shariah.
Dave: I would say the Vance Phillips-Eric Bodenweiser showdown was the rare fight among would-be alpha males that left both contestants incapable of taking over the pack.
And speaking of the Apple Scrapple Festival and Christianity, how different would our culture be if Satan had tempted Eve with a slab of scrapple?
So, is there a alpha challenger in the wings? I mean VC has a lost a lot, what with his daliance and the prayer lawsuit. And of course, EB is going to be permanently indisposed. So whose the big dog now? Not Urquhart, he shot is wad in the primary and having lost to a newcomer kind of relegated to the back of the pack. Wow, this is pretty cool using pack analogy with these folks! Woof woof!
Are you suggesting that scrapple is the product of the devil or that Vance was emulating Eve at the festival?
Take it from a refugee from Jersey, Christie is an opportunist first, pure and simple. This sad excuse for a human actually wants Mittens to lose so he has a clear path to run in 2016. His head has to be the fattest thing about him.