Offensive And Crude And Christie


The day after Governor Christie hammed it up on Late Night with David Letterman,  he declared  "She should probably be the surgeon general of the United States, I suspect because she must be a genius. This is just another hack who wants five minutes on TV."

That "hack," it turns out, is Dr. Connie Mariano, described by CBS News as "a former Navy Rear Adm. who served as Bill Clinton's White House physician," who had added

I can understand why his doctors and other people have had trouble getting him to lose weight. This is an issue that will haunt him if he decides to run for office...

A future President Christie could suffer from potentially deadly complications from diabetes, sleep apnea, and heart disease....I'm a Republican so I like Chris Christie a lot. I just want him to lose weight. I'm a physician more than a Democrat or a Republican, I worry about this man dying in office....

Besides calling Mariano (whom he never has met) a hack, Christie complained

My children saw that last night. And she sat there and said on TV, 'I'm afraid he's gonna die in office.' My 12-year-old son came to me and said, 'Dad, are you gonna die?' If she wants to get on a plane and come here to New Jersey and ask me if she wants to examine me and review my medical history, I'll have a conversation with her about that. Until that time, she should shut up.

Obesity is only one of a number of risk factors for mortality.  We all have heard of the 93-year old woman who drank a pint of whiskey a day, or of the slender, apparently healthy vegetarian who ran 4 miles a day and he died at the age of 35.  Anecdotal, certainly, but a reminder that every individual is, well, individual.

Christie blew up at the meanie who had responded to his interview the previous night, when fat jokes were on the menu- courtesy of the otherwise sensitive Governor himself.   Not content with pulling out a doughnut and taking a bite, the GOP superstar read revealed a note card and contributed two jokes (in reverse order):  "a billion dollars will be spent on potato chips on Super Bowl Sunday- and that's just at Governor Christie's house" and "celebrity birthday today:  Chris Christie turned 50.  He blew out the candles in his cake-and he wished for another cake."

Everyone laughed.  The next day, a physician board-certified in internal medicine suggested the Governor address his weight issues, and she was told to "shut up."

If the mainstream media weren't engaged with Christie in sex acts illegal in numerous states, it would have recognized a politician hailed as forthright and bold hiding behind his children.Undeterred by any sense of decency, the New Jersey governor cowardly whined

She must be a genius. My children saw that last night.

And she sat there on TV and said, I'm afraid he's going to die in office. I have four children between 9 and 19. My children, my 12- year-old son comes to me last night and says, dad, are you going to die? Come on. This is irresponsible stuff.

Children are more sensible and resilient than most of us, especially Chris Christie, appreciate.  They are also more perceptive and ought to understand that their father is unlikely to keel over and die tomorrow.   And if they're only as aware as their father thinks they are, they no doubt know about the Governor in April, 2010 accusing teachers of "using the students like drug mules" or last October publicly calling a Navy Seal an "idiot."  And no one should forget last summer's performance (video, below, from TMZ) on the boardwalk at the New Jersey shore when he yelled at a constituent and tried to goad him into a fistfight.

  

There is a parallel between Christie's childish behavior in Seaside Heights and his willingness to use his children.  In the latter case, the Governor cowardly hid behind family members. And when attempting to provoke a fight on the boardwalk, protected by his security detail, the Governor challenged the man to a physical confrontation.

Chris Christie revels in being considered a bully, central to the charm so many people have taken to.  But he is, even more accurately, as they say on the sidewalks Christie claims to have come from: a guy who can dish it out but can't take it.




Share |