Can someone explain Chris Christie's appeal to people? Because I just don't get it.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

And before people jump on me, it has nothing to do with physical appearance. It has everything to do with the man's style.

Whenever he speaks, the guy just comes off as an offensive, loudmouth lout.

Yet some people apparently think it's part of the man's "charm." That he's being "blunt" or "telling it like it is" or "speaking like a person from New Jersey would." And apparently those are endearing factors to some. Who knew?

I don't see anything presidential or exhibitive of strong leadership in Chris Christie's style. All I see is a tiresome boor.

[MarianJack]

1. I see a lot of similarities between christie and...

...our loud mouth bully "governor" paul lepage up here in Maine.

What the attraction is I have no idea. Hopefully they're both 1 termers.

PEACE!

[spartan61]

12. I so agree with you!

They are both big mouthed bullies. They try to cover their ignorance with their "tough" persona.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. His blustery bullying "straight guy" talk I guess just strikes a chord with some people

plus he has a good friend who is a Democrat, so people think he's able to "reach across the aisle". :shrug:

[rfranklin]

6. Same as the audience that adores Newt Gingrinch...

They feel victimized by the "liberalness" of the world and jump for joy when someone strikes back at their persecutors.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

15. Yup

that sounds about right. :puke:

[ProSense]

3. It's

"Can someone explain Chris Christie's appeal to people? Because I just don't get it."

...media hype. It even works to an extent in NJ, but even here, the last election proved that Christie has no coattails.

He's a windbag.

[jezebel]

4. First, let me say I would NEVER vote for him, but yes I can see why he would appeal to many people

and truly think IF he can win again in NJ, he would be a shoe in for the Republican nomination next time.

I think he often comes off as rude, but he seems REAL above all else and in a time when seeming like a politician is disgusting to most people (think Mitt Romney) there is a huge benefit to being authentic even when that is rude sometimes. You may not agree with him all the time, you may not even like him, but you BELIEVE he is telling it like he believes.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. I guess. But I just imagine him as the guy who corners you at a party...

....and proceeds to talk your ear off about "how he sees things" while you desperately try to plan your escape.

[emilyg]

20. Good take. Agree.

[golfguru]

26. Yes, Christy gives the perception that he is "REAL"

and seems fearless. Some people value those attributes.

[Marnie]

27. Yup he fearelessly attacks his food and he is real fat.

[davidsonl]

31. Not just overweight ...

Christie is not just overweight. He is morbidly obese. The sheer physical requirements of being president are far beyond his capability. Flying all over the world, like the president is required to do, would be a health issue with someone with Christie's medical problems.
The fact that he would make a lousy president if he was fit is incidental. He is not fit, neither mentally or physically to take on one of the most difficult jobs in the country.

[golfguru]

34. Are you saying Air Force 1 will need bigger jet engines

to fly Christy around?

[davidsonl]

36. "Jumbo" jets ...

No, just bigger seats! :-)

[golfguru]

37. This incident actually happened !!

I was flying home in the 6 seater company plane. The 6th seat was in the tail section, actually also the commode. We were only 5 of us so we agreed to give a free ride to the salesman who was Christy's size & shape. Naturally he got the worse seat in the plane, the commode seat in the tail section. As the pilot started the plane on the runway, he could not lift off because the tail section would not get up in the air. We had to seat the fatso in the middle of the plane for proper flight!

[Hart2008]

39. President Taft replaced the White House bath tub after he got stuck in it!

Could this be Christie's precedent for upgrading airplane seats?

At a gigantic 6′2" tall and 330 pounds heavy, the 27th President of the United States was indisputably the largest man to ever be president of this country. He was generally in good health and although he was medically diagnosed as being morbidly obese, he was quite light on his feet and was said to be a rather skilled dancer. One day, however, many contend that President Taft’s size got him in quite a precarious situation. Too large to be able to pull himself out of the presidential clawfoot bathtub, President Taft got stuck one unfortunate evening. The problem with this charming but rather small clawfoot bathtub is that it was too modest for the president’s robust body. It is rumored to have taken four men to dislodge him with a gallon of butter and a lot of determination. Eventually, a new oversized bathtub (probably not a conventional clawfoot tub) was installed that was seven feet long and three and a half feet wide. Many jokesters even said that he managed to break the bathtub with his prodigous girth. This, however, is not true. The bathtub broke when it was dismantled and taken out of the White House.

http://blog.simplybathtubs.com/2008/12/19/the-story-of-president-taft-and-the-clawfoot-bathtub-he-got-stuck-in.html

[mwb970]

41. I agree, to some degree.

The republicans have a definite preference for nasty blowhards who are "loud and wrong". If rudeness is a plus, I guess you have to include Christie in the mix.

By the way, it's "shoo-in", not "shoe in".

:)

[Cosmocat]

42. He is like Rex Ryan

I have never liked him, I always saw him as a self promoting grandstander.

But, that personality with that body type, something about how the combination works counter to what is dignified and classy, and people WANT to think that since it is the opposite of what you would like in these types of people it somehow is better.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

45. This may be superficial, but the guy needs to lose a TON of weight before even considering running.

He's been on TV a lot recently and he looks, not just a little, but a LOT larger than even when he was being talked about for entering this race. I mean really, insanely, might die in his sleep any day type of obese.

America may be an obese country but it doesn't want a supermorbidly obese president to rub its face in that fact regardless of the politics.

[begin_within]

5. He's a "straight shooter," at least that's what he called himself

in a letter I somehow received soliciting donations for Romney.

[dkf]

8. He is not especially Presidential, but I've been struck by some of the things he says.

Yesterday, MJ had a clip of him being heckled by protesters. His response was that he understood why people are upset, and the protests are a reaction to disappointment in Obama and the current situation, not Mitt Romney. That we were promised hope and change and we never got it. I felt my heart sink at that and honestly it made me really sad to think about how happy we were when Obama won.

He is dangerous because he connects.

[countingbluecars]

10. If you are talking about the clip

where protesters tried to mic check him, I saw his response as sarcastic and demeaning. He said something like, there now get it out of your system. He doesn't understand why people are upset. He is a typical repug who supports the 1%.

[dkf]

11. Everyone was silenced after that. I don't think I am the only one who felt punched in the stomach.

[No Elephants]

51. I'd put it more like "He's a typical politician member of the 1%."

[Ikonoklast]

35. Never met a Republican you didn't drool over.

Try harder.

[KansDem]

9. That's it exactly!

Yet some people apparently think it's part of the man's "charm." That he's being "blunt" or "telling it like it is" or "speaking like a person from New Jersey would." And apparently those are endearing factors to some. Who knew?

NPR did the same thing with Bush Baby. I remember Cokie Roberts reporting on the Bush "charm offensive" during the 2000 campaign. According to Cokie, if elected Bush would go to DC and get things done because of his "charm." And more Americans wanted to have a beer with him than Gore!

And he liked to give out nicknames, too!

NPR resurrected this style of reporting recently when it commented on the antics of the GOP filed of presidential candidates. According to NPR, folks like Perry, Cain, and Bachmann were...well, just "folks" and appealed to the common "folks" since they made mistakes and mis-statements just like them!

[tilsammans]

13. "speaking like a person from New Jersey would." NOT

:grr: I'm a proud New Jerseyan, and Chris Christie does not speak for me nor does he speak as I do. He reinforces the stereotype of NJ residents as loud, rude, crude, and unrefined.

I think we can all agree that that ilk exists elsewhere as well.

[JoePhilly]

30. As a proud Philly guy ... I like Christie ... he makes Philly guys like me ...

seem polite, well mannered, refined ... and THIN.

:rofl:

[bigdarryl]

48. I live in NJ under this FAT FUCK he fucked up our pension system by

changing the system not allowing retirees get a cost of living adjustment when this law was enacted in September.So what ever you receive when you retire your stuck at that same rate forever even though the cost of living goes up every year

[mailman82]

14. Repub Bullies!

We all know how the right feels about bullies! They think it is OK, I have stood up to bullies,since I was young defending my brother who had a small list of health issues. Which made him appear weak. I have always taken the side of the underdog in a fight. Trust me when I say most repubs think they can bully you down, because they are ignorant,don't know the facts, and are basically stupid. I don't fight with them, I hand them the facts and walk away.

[karynnj]

16. I not only live in his state, but his county

-- and he was such an obnoxious guy that the Republicans who were on the board of Freeholders with him recruited someone else and ran as a team when it was time for re-election. That was the end of his only previous elected position.

Many Republicans I know think he has been obnoxious.

[ladjf]

17. He is a world class jackass. The Right loves power-mad jackasses.

They see them as powerful leaders.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

18. He represents everything Americans tend to gravitate to: false toughness, mean spiritedness,

supposed straight-talking idiot! Plus like most Americans he's overweight and think someone else is responsible for their own plight!

[Dawson Leery]

19. His message is simplistic and he finds "bogeymen" to demonize and assault.

[Prophet 451]

21. "the guy just comes off as an offensive, loudmouth lout"

That's what the GOP likes about him. They want a pompous bully.

[ieoeja]

22. He is a Republican governor in the northeast.

His Democratic opponent privatized the state nearly into bankruptcy. Then became of CEO of MF Global which he succeeded in fully bankrupting.

He joins the long list of neo-libs and neo-cons who left a wake of disaster. And the hits just keep on coming.

[secondwind]

23. The GOP loves bullies and loudmouths...

[DCBob]

25. yep.. they love the in-your-face/fu-to-liberals attitude.

and it totally doesnt matter if he's a lying fat jackass.

[Enrique]

24. see this video

he happens to be on the right side in this video, and his directness looks good here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y83z552NJaw

[Tom Ripley]

28. People would like to sit down and have a keg with him

Good luck getting more than a wee dram!

[flamingdem]

33. lol

slurp

[Arkansas Granny]

29. Take a look at the Republican candidates this time around.

I can see why they would think Christie to be a good choice by default. They just don't have anyone right now that they can really support.

[karynnj]

44. Not to mention, they haven't looked at hard at Christie as they have looked at their flawed choices

If they did, they would find he has personality problems and baggage too.

[Hart2008]

47. The guy who isn't running and isn't under the media microscope always looks better. NT

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

32. I guess one person's boor is another person's suave debonair man-about-town charmer

Even a hippopotamus manages to find a mate.

[boppers]

38. "Can someone explain Kim Kardashian's appeal to people? Because I just don't get it."

"And before people jump on me, it has nothing to do with physical appearance."

...uhm.

You seem to think that people do not make decisions based on really vapid, selfish, criteria. He is a self indulgent, arrogant, boor, (with a very obvious, common, physical side effect of being that way), and he attracts people who have similar respect for others that he does.

[mwb970]

40. Maybe he seems "normal" compared to the other freaks in the show.

Taken on his own, Christie seems to be, well, an offensive loudmouth nut, just as you say.

There hasn't been a republican I have any respect for at all in many decades. They're all worthless.

[SmittynMo]

43. Another useless GOP bully

There is no appeal. How he got elected is beyond me. I'm just glad I don't live there.

Although the clip on the MIC check this week was pretty entertaining. Now where was I?

[Paladin]

46. His Physical Appearance IS A Critical Factor---Never Doubt It.

If Chris Christie weighed 180 pounds, this would be an entirely different presidential race, and Democrats would be sweating bullets about it.....

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

49. People seem to like his dumb ass Tony Soprano shtick. What can I say. nt

[No Elephants]

50. Koch money and the media propaganda--the two being related.