The Day Chris Christie Lost His Presidential Bid

Jerry Jones (left) and Chris Christie
at yesterday's Cowboys-Eagles game in Philadephia
(Image: cbssports.com)

One had the hope that New Jersey governor Chris Christie would abandon thoughts of running for the land's highest office. The Soprano state's caudillo didn't seem to project global gravitas. Severe doubts about how his bellicosity would play with, say, Vladimir Putin, suggested that surely the Republican Party could do better than the Man from Mendham. A little over a year ago, some of Christie's senior operatives, a number of whom came from the Rudy Giuliani camp, embarked on the act of political thuggery known as "Bridgegate." Once the governor's aides' shameless hardball actions were outed, Christie's star dimmed. However, a rehabilitation campaign skillfully denied the governor's culpability while quietly reassuring Christie's backers that the opera would not end until the fat man sings.

Thus, Chris Christie has again emerged as a presidential player. I think he blew his chances yesterday, when he attended a Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game in The City of Brotherly Love. The governor sat in a luxury box with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, openly rooting for the Texas team. Well, them's figthtin' words in Philly. For Philadelphia fans, and many others throughout the nation, the distaste and visceral contempt for the Cowboys runs deep. If you support Dallas, well you've just lost those fans' votes. And yes, many of them are white males, the core GOP constituency.

An argument could be made that the Cowboys have a strong, vocal national following, and they vote, too. Just don't offer that proposition in the Northeast, Wisconsin, or both Washingtons, during what promises to be a rough GOP presidential primary in 2016. Football fans have long memories, and loyalties to their teams. Would voters choose another candidate other than Citizen Christie on the basis of a pro football preference?

As Sarah Palin said (remember her?), "You betcha."

Report: 59 Philadelphia Voting Wards Showed Absolutely No Votes for Mitt Romney

The picture tells the story.
(Photo from Fox News)

In a fitting epitaph to the recent presidential election, a report in philly.com, the online editon of the Philadelphia Inquirer, notes that Mitt Romney was unanimously rejected in certain Philadelphia voting wards. We're talking zero votes for the man from Massachusetts. Nada. Absolutely nothing. Zip.

You could characterize this as the Obama campaign pitching a shutout, or Romney's campaign repeatedly swinging and missing. However, when the vote count is 19,605 to zero, well, what else can one say? We can reasonably suppose the Romney-Ryan message died a hard death in the predominantly African-American, predominantly 47 percenter wards cited in the story.

Unsurprisingly, the political Dracula known as "voter fraud" stuck its hand out from the political grave. According to the story,

Steve Miskin, a spokesman for Republicans in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, brought up his party's voter-identification initiative - which was held off for this election - and said "We believe we need to continue ensuring the integrity of the ballot."

Some people just don't get it.

A Quick Drive Through South Philadelphia

Geno's Steaks --
one of South Philadelphia's main cheesesteak joints

I spent this past weekend in Philadelphia on business. After business was completed, my wife and I went for a quick drive through South Philadelphia, an amalgam of cheesesteak kingdoms, restaurants either hip or hopeless, and elbow-to-elbow row housing. In a sense, South Philly is its own world, with unique reference points, neighborhood history, and unmistakeable look. If one is a person of color, South Philadelphia has not always offered a heartfelt benvenuto. Still, the neighborhood has an unmistakable sense of personality.

My wife, a fine art photographer, quickly noted South Philly's pictorial qualities, especially as we drove along the Italian Market's narrow streets that were quiet on a late Sunday afternoon. She has already put in her interest in a return trip, and I'm game.