General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsChris Christie’s quest for vision
Chris Here, I finally found my my calling ,I'm a funny guy !
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/01/06/chris-christie-quest-for-vision/ohdsgZszks6oQO8REY8xmO/story.html
THE EVENT sounded positively presidential: Chris Christie at Saint Anselm College, the academic epicenter of the New Hampshire primary, for a speech on Restoring American Leadership. And the trappings certainly imparted a sense of significance: a dais flanked by two American flags and a teleprompter.
Imagine, then, the anticipation when, after a ringing introduction from a fellow former US attorney, Christie strode to the podium.
Alas, the aura of gravity soon started to dissipate.
As paragraph piled upon paragraph, one found himself wondering, OK, when will this potential president describe what his restored American leadership would look like? What its guiding principles would be? Realism? Idealism? A hybrid approach?
Then reality dawned. There was no intellectual center, no philosophy, no tenet at the core of the speech, beyond the idea that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are weak, tentative, and clueless, and that with a forceful, courageous leader i.e., Chris Christie in the Oval Office, the unruly world will quickly start to behave. Whereupon certain nagging questions began to manifest themselves. As in: For this, he needed a telepompter? Wouldnt a Post-it note have suffice
The speechs real message was almost entirely political: If the GOP wants to prevail in November, it must coalesce behind a candidate who can unite the party, and that man is a certain Christopher James Christie.
But why, you might ask, is he uniquely qualified to be the Grand Old Party Uniter?
Certainly not because of any overarching grasp of global affairs hes displayed in this campaign. In the world according to Christie, the principal reasons appear to be: (1) He has been elected and reelected in the blue state of New Jersey; (2) He is battle-tested as governor of New Jersey; and (3) He knows how to get things done, as hes shown in New Jersey.
Bluster is not the leadership we crave, he noted. That was apparently meant as a swipe at Donald Trump, but it may also help explain why 62 percent of Garden Staters now disapprove of Christies own performance. Of course, so too may the repeated downgrades of New Jerseys credit-worthiness.
Now, Christie did display some political skills. For example, an ability to pander. Christie wants voters to know that while he has no tolerance for nativism, he also understands the emotions of those furious at the Obama administration over immigration, feels bad that they are being criticized for their (lightly informed) anger, and shares their secure the border priorities. (No mention that said border is now more secure than its been in decades.)
Or take trade. Christie is certainly a supporter of free trade but that doesnt necessarily mean he supports free-trade deals. Hes on the fence about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which hell review and decide on once he takes office. (Ah, leadership.)
On foreign policy, Christie defined himself by what hes isnt: neither an isolationist nor a nation-builder. As for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? In retrospect, it seems obvious that our disappointments in those efforts contributed directly to the rise of . . .
Not having processed the our, I found myself thinking, for a fraction of a second, that Christie was going to say ISIS or regional chaos or an aggressive Iran or something that actually betrayed a foreign policy outlook.
Then came his conclusion: President Obama.
Honestly, this passes for a world view?
The Donald here:
If it were not for the fact Christie is a slim ball ,I would say he's pitiful.I think the journalist pretty much hit the mark ,he is a bit of a funny guy,but the over all point was skipped over, Christie actually is a joke and that is just what isn't at all funny.
From the article in the bottom line:
In fairness, Christie did seem to impress some in the audience. And he offered a funny quip or two, which left me envisioning him in a new role.
Not as a president, mind you. Ive yet to see him display the intellectual heft or breadth that job requires.
But I did find myself thinking hed make an entertaining talk-radio host.