Surely you’ve noticed the uncanny resemblance between the president and the governor of New Jersey.
No? Try reading the latest Newsweek, which explains that the two men “have a lot in common.”
Despite their remarkable similarities ? really, it can be tricky to tell the two apart ? author Andrew Romano notes with a hint of surprise that Gov. Chris Christie has a better record of success.
There are many reasons Christie is outpacing Obama.
In the Garden State, a governor can pass his agenda without a Senate
supermajority, and he doesn?t have to endure the same radioactive levels
of scrutiny and vitriol as the commander in chief. But Christie?s
success isn?t solely circumstantial. As his time in Trenton has proved,
and as last week?s event in Hackettstown confirmed, it?s also the
product of his distinctive approach to governing.The easiest way to understand why Christie has
flourished and why Obama has faltered is to look at the jobs they held
before entering politics. From January 2002 to December 2008, Christie
served as New Jersey?s top federal prosecutor; earlier, Obama spent 12
years as a constitutional-law professor at the University of Chicago.
Of course, Romano says nothing about the vast differences in political philosophy employed by the top elected leaders in Washington and Trenton. One of these men believes government must be circumscribed to its proper role. The other believes government should provide the (taxpayer-funded) answer to every conceivable problem.
If only we could tell which one is which.
