“The Devil is the most devilish when respectable” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Funny how a politician who has branded himself as an outsider has suddenly found the need to belong and align himself with one of the leading politicians in America. I am of course talking about the Donald. But, more specifically, I want to talk about his recent endorsement from New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
Let’s remember for a moment that Christie in his last debate appearance took brilliant aim at Trump, saying that all you have to do to defeat him or show the holes in his logic is ask how he plans to do anything.
Christie placed special emphasis on the fact that he was a governor, someone who was making executive decisions all of the time and knew the ins and outs and could actually make things happen.
My how the tables have turned. Christie couldn’t net enough support in New Hampshire to stick around and found himself in a tight spot. In 2012 many were hoping that Christie, a feisty speaker and a best-buddy-next-door quality, would run for POTUS instead of the GOP crowd that would later endorse the very sedate and stately Mitt Romney.
After Romney’s loss, many were looking to Christie as the cream of the crop come 2016. Here we are. Christie found himself out-flanked by conservatives running all over the board. Ted Cruz became the far-right candidate, known for despising the Obama administration.
Marco Rubio quickly branded himself as a political dynamo with unlimited hatred for Hillary Clinton. Rand Paul, per usual, played the role of stoic constitutionalist. Contenders like Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson and Donald Trump branded themselves as successful outsiders and pitted the American voters against their own government.
Traditional conservatives like Christie, Florida governor Jeb Bush and Ohio governor John Kasich quickly found their messages lost in the scrum.
Even the feisty Christie had a hard time beating the louder antics and putdowns of Trump.
So that brings us to the more recent present. Christie got outdone and now he faces a state where only 33% of New Jersey residents approve of Christie’s governorship (this is according to the most recent polling information I could find, from just a little over two months ago).
Christie has implemented an unpopular tax policy, he’s been accused of being an absentee governor while on the presidential campaign trail and the shadow of Bridgegate looms large over his reputation.
Now, what is a poor boy who’s had his White House dreams crushed, is probably going to lose his position as governor and is mired in political controversy to do? Gun for a different White House position!
I’m not the first person to propose this theory, but I think that Christie is gunning for the vice presidency. He needs a job. Trump needs a second in command who can lend some real GOP legitimacy to his campaign. It’s no secret that the conservative base hates Trump.
Rumors were circulating early in the primary cycle that GOP big wigs had reached out to Romney to see if he would be interested in running again in an effort to dethrone Trump as the frontrunner. Adding Christie to the ticket would likely be a way to ease the base. It’s a smart move for that reason and one other reason….
Christie can debate. He’s maybe not the polished and respectful orator that President Obama or Vice President Biden are, but he knows the way to make his points and destroy the other candidate. And for those of you right now saying nobody cares about the V.P. debates, remember back to last year.
President Obama had lost the first debate to Romney in what was essentially a beat down. Every media outlet called it a loss for Obama and that if Romney could keep winning these debates, he wouldn’t have much of a problem taking the election.
Then, there was a shift. Vice President Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan took center stage in their own debate and Biden made Ryan look like a little kid wearing daddy’s suit.
Everything Ryan said was discredited by Biden laughing gently, the way you might at the kid in a philosophy class acting like he’s the next Socrates, and simply waving his hands saying, “That’s malarkey.”
Ryan didn’t know how to recover. Any credibility the Romney/Ryan ticket had established was being eradicated by a politician many in the GOP considered to be a wily senator who was occupying one of the least respected offices in American government.
He turned out to be a secret weapon that prevented a tectonic shift in American government. Trump has to be thinking the same. He knows that whomever Hillary Clinton (sorry, Bernie fans, but it ain’t gonna happen) picks as her running mate is likely going to be a skilled orator and he needs someone who can tear that person apart.
Although, those skills may not be as sharp as the Donald thinks he is. Over the weekend, Christie appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos hit him hard. Christie, to be honest, looked silly.
When the clips of Christie attacking Trump on items on Social Security, how Trump plans to pay for his Great Wall of Mexico, banning Muslims from the country and the fact that Trump hasn’t answered the great “how” for any issue that he has proposed.
Christie sounded foolish trying to rectify the inaccuracies in his stances and endorsing Trump. Christie then tried to turn the argument into a “there is no ideal candidate” debate and that Trump is the closest to what Christie wants.
Yeah right. The proof is in the pudding. Christie claimed Trump is his friend when he endorsed him. That may be so. But, they aren’t politically compatible. Christie’s just looking for a job so he’s not working on the New Jersey Boardwalk, selling balloons to kids come 2017.
If Christie really wanted to put his mouth and endorsements where his policies rested, he’d have endorsed Kasich – a Republican who leads a pivotal purple state, has the executive experience that comes with being a governor, with a great economic record and the decorum of a statesman.
But, Kasich isn’t going to win the nomination. Trump is. And Chris Christie needs his buddy to hook him up with a job. It’s also worth noting that Christie has said that Trump is the only one who can beat Hillary Clinton in the national election.
To paraphrase a saying from Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm from the film Jurassic Park: “You spent so much asking yourself if you could do something, you never bothered to ask if you should.”
Brian Laughran
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