Big Man, Big Plans
Spotlight On
by Clark Westfield
February 2013
Let’s talk numbers. A Quinnipiac University poll released recently finds Governor Christie with a 74 percent approval rating in the state—the highest rating Quinnipiac has found in 17 years of polling on New Jersey governors. And in a boon for Christie’s bid for a second term, 71 percent of voters say the governor deserves to be re-elected this November. That is some serious cheese. Christie’s surging poll numbers seem to be a direct response to his stewardship of the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In October, before the storm, Christie’s approval rating was 56 percent and just 52 percent said he deserved to win a second term.
Perhaps the most notable finding in the latest poll is Christie’s popularity among Democrats—which has long been the GOP governor’s biggest weakness in the mostly Democratic state. According to Quinnipiac, 56 percent of Democratic voters approve of the job Christie is doing. And a slight plurality of Democrats—48 percent—say Christie should be re-elected, compared to the 43 percent who oppose his bid for a second term. Simply stated, he did his job. In the world of politics these days, that is a fact that cannot and should not be overlooked. House Republicans and Senate Democrats wait until the 11th hour before they even begin to attempt to reach an agreement on issues that threaten to derail the country and send us off the fiscal cliff. Happy to report my Garden State neighbors, that is not the case here at home. But while the big man is almost a lock for a second term here, in the bigger picture he may have done himself irreparable harm. Republican strategists were not at all thrilled with Christie’s embrace of President Obama during the waning moments of the 2012 presidential election and some Romney staffers went as far as to say that it was Christie who was partially responsible for the election results. Poppycock. Governor Christie was doing his job. When asked to stump for Romney in Pennsylvania in early November, his response was a simple no. With the devastation across the state, Governor Christie said his first obligation was to his constituents at home. The people that elected him to office and ebbed and flowed with him during the many reforms he put into motion (See: education) were his first and only concern. Responsibility, people. There is a remarkable shortage of that quality in politicians these days. Our man has it. Some call him out on his bluntness when dealing with issues that cross his desk. Those numbers are waning. Others have problems with issues that cross his dinner table. Witness the manner in which he scolded a former White House physician for her comments on his weight, saying that, as she had not examined him, her comments that he could “die of a heart attack in office” were irresponsible and frightened his children. On “The Late Show with David Letterman,” he referred to himself as “the healthiest fat guy you have ever seen in your life.” This as he slipped a donut out of his pocket and devoured it on national TV. The man is extremely self-aware and acts on his convictions. In New Jersey, that plays well. On a national level, maybe not so much. Talk of Christie running for president is no longer at the tip of everyone’s tongue. Marco Rubio (can I PLEASE get a drink of water????) has replaced him at the top. And then there is Jeb Bush. I’m not ready to go there yet (and neither is the rest of the country it seems). So maybe our Governor will not be the next president of the United States. Personally I think that’s a shame, because if he was our Commander-in-Chief, I’d be awfully afraid if I was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I can almost hear that call to Iran…”Listen pal, I got my finger on the button, they stopped making Twinkies, I’m on the edge, don’t push me!”
So I guess we’re going to have the Big Man around here for another few years. Personally, I can live with that. That’s my opinion. You may disagree, and we welcome your thoughts on the man, the methods and the meatballs.
Be sure to tune in next month when we go one-on one with the oddest couple in the world, Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un.