A Public Servant in the Best Sense of the Word, and Smart Governor...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

After Hurricane Sandy

There are lots of reasons to like New Jersey Governor Christie. The following is just one of many...

THE HILL - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) raised eyebrows among Republicans last year, when he heartily embraced President Obama in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which hit shore just days before the presidential election.

On Friday, Christie doubled down on his bipartisan outreach, appearing with former President Bill Clinton at a seminar in Chicago for the Clinton Global Initiative.

The appearance came while other top Republicans were gathering in Washington, D.C., for Ralph Reed's annual Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, an illustration of the basic tension facing the New Jersey governor: appeasing both voters in his traditionally Democratic home state while minding the dyed-in-the-wool conservatives who dominate the Republican nominating process.

Clinton and Christie recognized the high-wire political act, with the former president joking that the governor was "consorting with a leper."

But the duo heaped praise on one another, with Clinton applauding the way Christie navigated New Jersey through the aftermath of the storm.

"We need to redefine leadership beyond how you just respond to an emergency to how you keep emergencies from happening, and he's done a good job," Clinton said.

Clinton told Christie that while he got "praise and damnation for ignoring the political differences you had and still have with the president," his efforts to prepare his state for future disasters should win bipartisan support.

"We've got to stop waiting for something horrible to happen and then spend ten times as much," Clinton said.

Christie agreed that disaster preparedness and response could unify Americans across party lines. {Read More}

2016?

Via: Memeorandum

Comments

  1. Will "take no prisoners" HartSat Jun 15, 01:32:00 PM EDT

    The sad fact is that Christie, who would probably be a far better President than either Bush or Obama, is no doubt going to have to go through the same contortions that Romney did in order to get the Republican nod, and at that junction it'll simply be too late (the alienation of far too many people).

    ReplyDelete
  2. dmarksSun Jun 16, 07:52:00 AM EDT

    A little off topic, but related. I look at Obama in the picture there, and see a national leader taking his duties seriously and responsibly; a man who, like Christie, is seriously moved by the tragic events. Other conservatives look at this picture and see nothing more than a villain callously using people for photo ops. I guess I am not conservative enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les CarpenterSun Jun 16, 09:01:00 AM EDT

      And dmarks, you have aptly described precisely the issue of ideologically driven extreme partisanship.

      Perhaps, however it is seriously unlikely, those who fall into this description will recognize themselves.

      Delete
    2. Will "take no prisoners" HartSun Jun 16, 11:33:00 PM EDT

      If it weren't for politics, I probably would have liked both Bush AND Obama (instead of not particularly caring for either one).

      Delete
    3. Les CarpenterMon Jun 17, 12:35:00 AM EDT

      But were it not for politics who knows? Having a beer, or brandy with either might be most enjoyable

      Delete
  3. dmarksMon Jun 17, 10:42:00 AM EDT

    Les said: "And dmarks, you have aptly described precisely the issue of ideologically driven extreme partisanship."

    I am sure there are those who would look at a picture of Bush in a similar situation and think "villain" or "war criminal" instead of what he was also (and no less than President Obama): a national leader who took duties seriously and responsibly and was seriously moved by the tragic events.

    These individuals would be perfect examples of "ideologically driven extreme partisanship", and you are probably right that they would be too blind and pumped up with ideology to recognize themselves at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Les CarpenterMon Jun 17, 11:26:00 PM EDT

      Yes. It does seem that those who most urgently need mirrors are the ones who seldom use them.

      Delete

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