Good for him
Oct. 4th, 2011 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
debgeislerVarious news outlets are reporting that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be ending the speculation about a potential White House run by saying "Not me." Bravo, Gov. Christie.
First, I really like most of what I've seen of Gov. Christie. He seems like the kind of solid, sensible, no-nonsense Republican that once drew me to that party. I don't know if he could translate what is a perfect fit for New Jersey to the presidency, but he seems like a good man who is trying to do the right things for his state and its people.
Second, all of the current Republican candidates unnerve me for one reason or another. For a party that is all uptight about sex, these candidates hop into bed with special interests, big business donors, and barking mad crazy Tea Partiers far too easily. The one "mainstream" candidate used to be my state's governor. I couldn't stand him then; don't want him as my president.
So why wouldn't I want a solid person to run for the office - particularly when I'm pretty comfortable with a lot of his policies in New Jersey?
Because it would harm him and the state about which he cares. National elections mean huge amounts of time on the campaign trail - time away from his state. In Massachusetts, we remember how damaging the election bid by Michael Dukakis proved for our state, when no one was at the helm.
And national elections mean national mockery. People will look for things that make candidates less than ideal. They will often ignore the words that a candidate speaks, or the deeds that a candidate has done, and focus on peripheral issues: how physically attractive is a candidate? Do they have personal quirks? What color is their skin? What is their gender?
Gov. Christie is a large man, and that would be the main thing people would focus on. We've already had a taste of this with the last few weeks of speculation about a possible bid by him. He has to be getting damned tired of it.
We had enough of "gee, the candidate is black" in the last presidential election. I couldn't stomach a full round of "gee, the candidate is fat."
First, I really like most of what I've seen of Gov. Christie. He seems like the kind of solid, sensible, no-nonsense Republican that once drew me to that party. I don't know if he could translate what is a perfect fit for New Jersey to the presidency, but he seems like a good man who is trying to do the right things for his state and its people.
Second, all of the current Republican candidates unnerve me for one reason or another. For a party that is all uptight about sex, these candidates hop into bed with special interests, big business donors, and barking mad crazy Tea Partiers far too easily. The one "mainstream" candidate used to be my state's governor. I couldn't stand him then; don't want him as my president.
So why wouldn't I want a solid person to run for the office - particularly when I'm pretty comfortable with a lot of his policies in New Jersey?
Because it would harm him and the state about which he cares. National elections mean huge amounts of time on the campaign trail - time away from his state. In Massachusetts, we remember how damaging the election bid by Michael Dukakis proved for our state, when no one was at the helm.
And national elections mean national mockery. People will look for things that make candidates less than ideal. They will often ignore the words that a candidate speaks, or the deeds that a candidate has done, and focus on peripheral issues: how physically attractive is a candidate? Do they have personal quirks? What color is their skin? What is their gender?
Gov. Christie is a large man, and that would be the main thing people would focus on. We've already had a taste of this with the last few weeks of speculation about a possible bid by him. He has to be getting damned tired of it.
We had enough of "gee, the candidate is black" in the last presidential election. I couldn't stomach a full round of "gee, the candidate is fat."
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no subject
on 2011-10-04 04:47 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-10-04 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-10-04 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-10-04 08:34 pm (UTC)Interesting - most of the reports I've seen over the past few months have indicated that he's an abrasive bully. However, I agree with you on the more global issue of his weight being likely to be a focus if he had run.
no subject
on 2011-10-04 09:17 pm (UTC)What he is, from all accounts, is someone who knows who he is and where he wants to be - and that is in New Jersey, not in the White House.
I'm not going to sing his praises too loudly, because I just don't know enough. But he seems well fitted to his state.
no subject
on 2011-10-04 09:29 pm (UTC)