New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie had been a tough surrogate for Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and Republican nominee for president.
Once on a short list for vice presidential consideration, Christie played the role perfectly. He was a bulldog of a keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention and has spent a lot of the time since ragging on President Obama’s leadership abilities, or rather, the lack of them.
That is, until reality bit.
Sandy, the superstorm that ravaged the Jersey Shore and plunged millions into darkness on the eastern seaboard, took Christie out of his partisan political role and put him on the job as New Jersey’s governor.
Christie and Obama, who was similarly forced off the campaign trail and into chief executive mode by the storm, realized they not only had a common responsibility to those millions impacted by thestorm but also they could respect each other’s eff orts.
It was a welcome sight, this collaboration in the face of crisis as the pair toured the Jersey Shore and spoke with storm victims, each intent on doing whatever their respective oft ces could do to help the people with shattered lives.
Each politician praised the other, although Christie’s remarks are the ones that have lingered. His praise of Obama’s quick help to New Jersey brought criticism from some conservatives apparently more caught up in next week’s election than the plight of the people trying to put their lives back together after the storm.
Nevertheless, ChristieBRENDA BLAGG [email protected]focused on his real job as governor, not his Romney surrogate role, as he looked for ways to help his people.
And Christie spoke his mind about the cooperation and support Obama brought to those eff orts.
The leadership role both men play in this situation is primarily about providing reassurance to the storm victims, delivering the message that what can be done is being done to restore power and whatever normalcy is possible. The real work is being done by Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross and all those other responders who are on the job in New Jersey, New York and the other states in Sandy’s path.
It is a huge, collaborative effort that is really just beginning.
Both the president and governor were nonetheless off ering reassurance, eliminating red tape, speeding the steps to recovery and, for a while at least, forgetting the partisan political dividebetween them.
Christie made that most plain when he answered a questioner from Fox and Friends, who had asked if the governor was going to give candidate Romney a tour of the storm damage.
“I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” Christie said.
“I’ve got a job to do here in New Jersey that’s much bigger than presidential politics, and I could (not) care less about any of that stuff .”
Just to make absolutely sure no one misunderstood him, Christie added, “If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, you don’t know me.”
It is the kind of comment that may come back to haunt Christie, but that straight talk and his heartfelt praise of Obama’s crisis management sure was a welcome respite from the usual partisan political rhetoric.
BRENDA BLAGG IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST.
Opinion, Pages 12 on 11/04/2012