I don’t want to beat this to death, but I am from New Jersey and I am just as emotionally traumatized by what happened there during Hurricane Sandy as any New Orleans native was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps for this reason, I am getting a little tired of all the remote psychoanalysis of Gov. Chris Christie by cynics who think that he is cuddling up to the president out of some kind of cold political calculation. If you are not from Jersey, maybe you just don’t know. The Jersey shore is as integral to the culture of the state as the automotive industry is to Michigan or Mardi Gras is to The Big Easy. When I saw the aerial footage of the damage to Seaside Heights and Atlantic City and other areas of the shore, I was devastated, just as the governor was devastated. I knew exactly what that footage meant in a way that most people don’t.
Look. I’m not a fan of Chris Christie. I think he was a corrupt U.S. attorney and I think he is a bully who has a destructive ideology and agenda. But he’s Jersey. He’s Jersey, one hundred percent. And he isn’t cozying up to the president because he has some secret agenda. He wants help for his state and he’s getting help, and he’s appropriately grateful. When he says that he doesn’t give a crap about the election, he’s saying that because after seeing the destruction at Long Beach Island and spots further south, he can’t focus on anything else. There are other concerns, like massive power outages in Newark and Jersey City, flooding in Hoboken and other areas near the Hackensack River, and wind damage in various areas. But it’s the Katrina-like destruction at the shore that is driving the governor’s behavior. A way of life is threatened.
Here’s what I am talking about:
Any questions?
