MORE TO LOVE

You've probably seen this story:

Gov. Chris Christie arrived at his son's baseball game this afternoon aboard a State Police helicopter.

Right before the lineup cards were being exchanged on the field, a noise from above distracted the spectators as the 55-foot long helicopter buzzed over trees in left field, circled the outfield and landed in an adjacent football field. Christie disembarked from the helicopter and got into a black car with tinted windows that drove him about a 100 yards to the baseball field....

I have to say I'm surprised at mistermix's reaction:

I hope this hothouse flower runs, because he'll be crushed by any serious media attention.

Really? I don't see it. Forget the weight for a second -- Christie's the kind of guy middle-aged white male political reporters love: 100% sure of himself, and capable of sorting out the cool kids (anyone who agrees with him) and the uncool kids (liberals, unionized teachers) effortlessly, in a way that makes the reporters feel included, to the general amusement and snickering of any crowd he's addressing, and the general humiliation of anyone he targets. Fat or not, he's got a George W. Bush thing going.

Political reporters do sometimes develop mancrushes on Democrats (Clinton in '92, Obama in '07 and '08), but Republicans have the added advantage of being empathy-challenged, so they're much better at turning certain people into objects of mockery and humiliation, which for reporters -- when they're not the ones being singled out -- is always fun.

Besides, Christie is into BRUUUUUUCE!, which makes him actually seem hip in the eyes of the average middle-aged East Coast journalistic white guy.