Chris Christie to stroll Jersey Shore with Obama (again!): What's he thinking?
Chris Christie is welcoming a VIP to the Jersey Shore on Tuesday to see the area鈥檚 recovery efforts 鈥� President Obama.
Yes, it鈥檚 true. The GOP New Jersey governor is once again set to stroll along the boardwalk with the Democratic US chief executive, delighting many of his constituents but rankling conservatives across America.
You鈥檒l remember that in the wake of superstorm Sandy, prior to last November鈥檚 election, Governor Christie welcomed Mr. Obama to the Garden State and praised him for helping to speed the federal response to devastated coastal areas. This infuriated supporters of the Republican White House hopeful, Mitt Romney. Some in the Romney campaign blamed Christie for contributing to Romney鈥檚 subsequent defeat.
Now Obama鈥檚 on the defensive in Washington, due to the IRS scandal, Benghazi hearings, revelations about federal seizure of journalists' phone records, and so forth. So what鈥檚 an embattled president to do? Road trip! Back to the Jersey Shore for a little skee ball and some fries in a paper cup, and suddenly that 48 percent approval rating doesn鈥檛 look so bad. Maybe the voters will forget some of the bad stuff as summer starts, amirite?
鈥淭he fact of the matter is, he鈥檚 the president of the United States and he wants to come here and see the people of New Jersey. I鈥檓 the governor and I鈥檒l be here to welcome him,鈥� said Christie Friday morning during an appearance
What鈥檚 Christie thinking? If he鈥檚 ever going to run for president, he鈥檒l need to win Republican primaries, and that鈥檚 going to be hard to do if the voters in, say, South Carolina think you鈥檙e a turncoat and Republican In Name Only (RINO).
Yes, but he鈥檚 also up for reelection to his current office this year, and last time we looked, New Jersey was a blue-leaning state. In that context, the joint appearance with Obama can only help.
And reaching out to the other party is working pretty well for Christie so far, electorally speaking. Paterson City Council president Anthony Davis earlier this week, becoming the 14th prominent state Democrat to back the incumbent governor.
The official Democratic gubernatorial candidate, state Sen. Barbara Buono, is now so far behind that some party veterans are urging her to drop out in favor of some (probably imaginary) better-positioned candidate. Polls show Senator Buono trails Christie .
Plus, as Christie himself argues, his responsibilities to economic redevelopment of the devastated shore are his first priority at the moment. He鈥檚 been rolling up and down the shore this week to help publicize the area鈥檚 recovery. On Friday he cut a that symbolically linked some of the shore鈥檚 hardest-hit towns, in an attempt to show they are open for business.
鈥淎nybody who lives in New Jersey, the Jersey Shore is in your heart,鈥� Christie said. 鈥淭his means everything to our state.鈥�
If Christie does decide to run for president, he鈥檚 still got plenty of time to veer back to the right. Democrats may help him do that: The liberal Nation this week 鈥淐hris Christie, a GOP Moderate? Fuhgeddaboudit!鈥� It detailed some of his more conservative positions, such as his past opposition to abortion and his battles with public-sector unions.
Finally, there鈥檚 a chance the much-vaunted reluctance of the GOP primary electorate to embrace perceived moderates is overblown. After all, the past two Republican presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, were far from the most conservative folks in the race. Mr. Romney鈥檚 primary victory may have showed that the electability argument still carries some weight in the party.
Thus it鈥檚 possible that Christie鈥檚 popularity with Democrats may not count against him in 2015 and 2016 as much as many pundits now think.
