Christie: Election Catchup

What did I think of Dave Weigel’s pics of Christie getting into it with a teacher the other day?

Whatever it purports to show likely not have any lasting effect because, in spite of where John Aravosis is going with this, temper is not Christie’s dominant character flaw. (Not like Romney’s was.) And the photos don’t hurt him much in the moment, either. (He won big, didn’t he?) Sailing with those moderate winds at his back, I imagine he’s savoring the slap down, like pushing back on progressive tendencies, literally.  What I most appreciate, actually, is Weigel’s analysis of that smile on Mrs. Christie’s face. If a still lasts forever, it tends to grossly overrepresent that instant in time. She had the happy face on for the cameras.

Now, where the Daily News went pictorially, just two days before the election, was plainly cheap. With the Halperin and Heilemann Campaign ’12 book as the focus/excuse, however, Team Romney’s issue with Christie’s appearance made for wide cover. But back to character, it’s not about weight, per se, but the doughnut screengrab from Letterman hits on something else — something also evidenced above. That the man’s larger flaw is being too full of himself.

(photo 1 -3: Dave Weigel/Twitter. photo 4: YOUTUBE via NY Daily News. caption: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie eats a doughnut on the Late Show — but his weight was no laughing matter to the Romney campaign, says a new book.)