The New York Times had a headline on Saturday that read, “Imagining a Christie Campaign for President.”
That seems appropriate–if we’re talking about how it’s the corporate media doing the imagining.
On ABC‘s This Week (10/2/11), Jonathan Karl announced that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie‘s speech at the Reagan Library “was the most electrifying event of the campaign so far.”
That speech was treated like a big event on the NBC Nightly News (9/28/11), with anchor Brian Williams saying up front that Christie is “the man whose every word is being watched and listened to so very carefully.” Reporter Chuck Todd–you know, the voice of the voiceless–explains that there is a “twist” in the presidential race: “Chris Christie opened the door a crack to running for president.”
What does that mean? Apparently he didn’t say he’s not running:
It’s what New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did not say at the Reagan Library Tuesday night that froze the Republican presidential race in place. He didn’t say no.
In the NBC segment, Christie tells people to go check out a Politico story–which is a compilation of all the times he’s said he’s not running for president. Which kind of sounds like he doesn’t think he’s running for president, right?
And if that doesn’t convince you, surely this will:
TODD: But when an audience member pleaded with him:
Offscreen Voice #2: I mean this with all my heart. We can’t wait another four years to 2016. We need you. Your country needs you to run for president.
TODD: Christie stopped joking and left an opening.
Gov. CHRISTIE: I thank you for what you’re saying and I take it in and I’m listening to every word of it and feeling it, too.
TODD: Everything about Christie’s speech screamed national campaign.
Everything except, you know, the part where he says he’s running for president.
As the new season of “Who Wants to be President” opens, we are all to watch with intense fascination to see who will be voted off the island first.
First we get to watch the candidates, or non-candidates as the case may be, being disrespected by inane questioning; and then the winner gets four years to disrespect our intelligence in return.
As we all know now, the great man is not running–nor is witless greedhead sociopath Sarah Palin. And you know what? Christie couldn’t get the nomination anyway. Why? Well, he’s for gay marriage, among other liberal things, and despite Haley Barbour’s beseechments, the baggers and other numbskulls in the Republicon party simply won’t stand for anything that remotely resembles sanity. Sure, Christie’s a resentful, lying, overbearing cheapskate and hypocrite, but he’s not completely stupid and greedy like, say, Palin or Bachmann or Santorum. This is what it’s come down to in modern conservatism–a fellow with a few bonafide conservative, uh, outlooks will be knocked down immediately (think Mitt Romney here too) by the Yahoos in favor of a genuine imbecile who despises all things intellectual, factual, modern, lawful, and democratic (think Rick Perry). Go get ’em, Republicons!
The greatest tragedy is that who they nominate will not likely matter as much as the state of th economy… unless Obama can do something to rally his base and turn things around. It is looking a lot like 1980 or 2004.
Actually it’s looking a lot like 1904, when the country was riven by class warfare and Colonel Roosevelt happened along to bust the trusts, validate unions, impose food safety, and give the great unwashed national parks to suck in clean air and experience nature — if they could get there. It turns out the three decades after Word War II, when the income disparity between the top and bottom was imaginable, that was so rare as to be an aberration — something the rich know very well. Hence all the accumulation the last couple of decades, at the expense of who-cares-I’m-gettin-mine.
The mystery is that guys like Christie attract such adulation from wage earners, union members, the poor, the unemployed — in other eras, his sworn enemies. I suppose it’s partly that American revere wealth the way other cultures swoon before their nobles. We confer upon rich people privileges they haven’t earned, station they don’t possess, and sagacity they utterly lack. This is why Mitt Romney, despite everything, could easily be our next president.
Glen….Now that was a funny blog.Right on right on.
Tim I really think you are wrong.I think he “could” get the nomination.Those social issues that you think are so important to the conservative base are what i call opinions.Everybody has one.Most conservatives( though they wont help any more slippage to the left) -are not going to try to legislate back toward the right.It is a waste of time, and energy and against what most Americans want. Im talking things like gay marriage or abortion.These “social”issues are so far down the road as to not even be on the radar for most of us.In a Republican administration I would doubt any change whatsoever.Expect everything to stay right in the middle.So though you think this litmus test is important….it is only important now, when useless opinions are being thrown about like so much confetti in the nomination process.To us on the right it is really all about the economy.And Christy is a good man who understands a few sad truths.Of course he is not running, so we are only talking wishful thinking.Sarah has shown herself to be a person too outside the “power base” to be taken seriously.At least for now.
Tom
Christie is not the sworn enemy of any of those groups.He is though- the reality check for everyone.He wants to make things better so unions can have work again.The old fashioned way……WHEN IT IS NEEDED!Obama talks a good game as he destroys the ground under which these groups live.And profit is not a dirty word.Rich not something to put on the enemies list.
Who cares? Is this really important enough to cover? I find all this coverage around republican candidates ridiculous. And even more so when supposedly critical media outlets participate in it.
Once the final couple of candidates duke it out, it will be interesting to know where they stand on various issues to know exactly HOW dangerous they are. But until then… they’re all basically morons – we know.
I agree that the coverage of the Republican candidates is stupid. To me, the dumbest part of all about this is that the Republican primaries don’t even start until January, at the earliest. And there’s all this coverage over who the front runner is, and who’s out, now? It goes beyond the usual coverage reducing elections and other political news to sports events. It’s like proclaiming the winner of say, the World Series, before the first game even begins. Where’s the logic in that?
Sadly, regardless of who wins the Republican nomination, Obama’s going to be a one term president. With the economy still in the Great Recession, he doesn’t have a prayer of getting re-elected. He’s finally showing some backbone, but it’s too little, and far too late. He’s conceeded too much to the Republicans at this point. There’s no way that he can turn this around, at least not not in time for Election Day 2012.
Paul…You say” sadly he is one term”?My God man from left and from right- he is a disaster.
Who doesn’t want to be a president, ispecially is he/she is a polirical carrierist. He just doesn’t have the chances on his side…
Last nights debate…..Why did no one ask if the report about Romney’s advisors being dispatched to the white house to help on Obamas healthcare plan is true?