Who says bipartisanship is dead? Yesterday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie proved it wasn't. In the wake of devastation left by Hurricane Sandy, Christie took to the airwaves on all major networks, as well as CNN, MSNBC and - horror of horrors! - Fox News, just to wax more than lyrical, more to wax effusively lyrical regarding the President's handling of the Sandy crisis and, in particular, of the individual attention and co-operation the President gave to New Jersey and to Christie's ego, in particular.
Just watch something you'll never see again - a sitting Republican governor praising the President on Fox News.
OK, Christie's a politician, and so is the President, who has suspended his campaign in order to do the job he was elected to do. Now, maybe Christie is sincere. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he's a governor dealing with a crisis of nature in his beleagured state.
But cast your mind back to a couple of months ago, when Christie was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention.
Rather than extolling the virtues of the man the GOPers had assembled formally to nominate, Christie spent half an hour extolling his own virtues - in anticipation of heading the ticket, himself, come 2016; and considering the current situation, this gives pause for thought.
Christie is no fool. He's a pretty astute politician able to communicate as effectively as the President. He would also know how bloody fed up people are with the extreme partisanship on display in Washington. Whilst I'm sure he was grateful for the President's support (and make no mistake, the President had an eye to what his approaching Christie would mean to undecided voters as well), Christie is cognizant of the fact that, in his ambitions for 2016, come that time, people will remember this moment, and they will see him as a guy who can work with the other side.
Whether he will or not, remains to be seen, but people will always remember that October 30, 2012, was actually when Chris Christie began his 2016 campaign for the Presidency.
Let the games begin.
Just watch something you'll never see again - a sitting Republican governor praising the President on Fox News.
OK, Christie's a politician, and so is the President, who has suspended his campaign in order to do the job he was elected to do. Now, maybe Christie is sincere. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as he's a governor dealing with a crisis of nature in his beleagured state.
But cast your mind back to a couple of months ago, when Christie was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention.
Rather than extolling the virtues of the man the GOPers had assembled formally to nominate, Christie spent half an hour extolling his own virtues - in anticipation of heading the ticket, himself, come 2016; and considering the current situation, this gives pause for thought.
Christie is no fool. He's a pretty astute politician able to communicate as effectively as the President. He would also know how bloody fed up people are with the extreme partisanship on display in Washington. Whilst I'm sure he was grateful for the President's support (and make no mistake, the President had an eye to what his approaching Christie would mean to undecided voters as well), Christie is cognizant of the fact that, in his ambitions for 2016, come that time, people will remember this moment, and they will see him as a guy who can work with the other side.
Whether he will or not, remains to be seen, but people will always remember that October 30, 2012, was actually when Chris Christie began his 2016 campaign for the Presidency.
Let the games begin.
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