Memo to the Pundits and Professors: Manipulation & Deceit Are Not “Political Strengths”

NJ Media Has A Duty To Warn Primary Voters About Christie’s Dishonest Tactics

Gov. Christie nearing the end of his Blue Fleece phase, spins at Union Beach Press Conference (Feb. 5, 2013)

[Update: 2/21/15 – Charlie Stile at the Bergen Record upheld that duty to warn in a must read absolute killer column today, see:

Christie’s Straight shooting in N.H. is loaded with irony back in New Jersey  ~~~~ end update]

The Bergen Record ran a piece today about Gov. Christie’s political campaign tactics that just makes my blood boil, see

• Analysis: With voters, Christie stresses persona over policy

Coming from an academic source, teaching at a Catholic institution that touts its mission that “focuses on academic and ethical development“, this quote is particularly outrageous

“It’s playing to his strengths,” said Matthew Hale, a Seton Hall political science professor. “His strengths in my mind are that people can look at him and identify with him. They look at him as a person, as him being fed up and quite frankly saying what he thinks. I think Jeb Bush is taking the more imperial route to his campaign so far. He’s giving these big policy addresses that are talking about these big ideas, but how many hands is he |shaking?”

Gov. Christie’s “strengths” that the good professor Hale is touting amount to manipulation and deceit of voters.

I’m sure Seton Hall does not consider such tactics as part of the “ethical development” of their students or our politics.

The University and its Professors have professional, ethical – and in this case, moral – obligations to truth, and to speak and act based on the truth, particularly in the public arena and in educational capacities.

Professor Hale has observed Gov. Christie’s political tactics for over 5 years now.

He knows the Truth – he knows exactly how the Governor inflated his favorable ratings by opportunistic and craven – but substantively empty and misleading – self promotion, the symbol of which has become the Blue Fleece.

President Clinton had his blue dress – Gov. Christie’s Blue Fleece should be no less notorious a symbol of moral failure.

The fact that a Catholic University Professor could describe those tactics as “strengths” is appalling and a sign of the decadence and decline of our democracy.

I fired off this letter to the editor at the Bergen Record, which I doubt they will print so do so here:

Dear Editor:

Re: Analysis: With voters, Christie stresses persona over policy (2/18/15)

After covering Gov. Christie for 5 years, NJ media can play an enormously important role in the Presidential primary debates.

Journalists have a professional – if not moral – obligation to educate voters in other states about Gov. Christie’s record and his political tactics.

So, now seeing Christie deploying the same “blue fleece” BS tactics he used to dupe the people of NJ, why does your analysis quote sources that praise those manipulative and dishonest tactics?

They should be condemned as those of a demagogue.

Fool me once….