Governor Chris Christie Lost Some Weight, Retained His Sense of Humor

A somewhat slimmer New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told Imus today that times are tough, a truth he saw in the eyes and heard in the voices of New Jersey residents just last night on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore.

“They just don’t have the confidence that tomorrow is going to be better than yesterday,” he said.

The only fix, he believes, would be getting people back to work. “Your whole attitude changes when you have a job, and when you have a job that feels rewarding, your attitude changes even more,” said Christie.

He’s otherwise relatively hopeful. “I think at least people are talking, and we’ve just got to continue to work through these things together with folks,” Christie said, referring to international conflicts. “When we have to stand up and fight, we stand up and fight.” 

Christie made news last month when he fired his Education Secretary for making what he claimed was a clerical error on a form that cost New Jersey a lot of money for education.

“When trust breaks down between the Governor and a member of his cabinet, then someone’s got to go,” he told Imus. “And the Governor’s not going.”

The money was part of a program called Race to the Top, a federal grant that is emblematic, in Christie’s view, of the problems that occur when the federal government possesses too much power. 

“The further you get away from local control, the more common sense goes away, and people get stuck in bureaucratic rules,” he said.

Beginning today and continuing throughout the month of September, Christie will hold town hall meetings all over New Jersey to roll out his reform agenda for the fall. First on the agenda is ethics reform, because, as he put it, “Even in a place like New Jersey, a little ethics reform would be good.”

He’ll also focus on pension and benefit reform, as well as a “bold” new education program. Perhaps Christie is feeling emboldened by his 57 percent approval rating?

“So far so good,” he said happily. 

Since becoming Governor earlier this year, Christie hasn’t increased the number of Bruce Springsteen concerts he’s attended, which holds steady at 125. He has, however, decreased the amount of weight on his body, arguably a more beneficial endeavor, though he told Imus he’s got a long way to go. “It’s like throwing a couple of deck chairs off the Titanic,” he joked of his progress so far. 

Christie then profusely insisted he would NOT be running for President at any point ever, leading Imus to wonder if his guest was hiding a nefarious past. 

“Let me tell you something,” said Christie. “You and I can have an off-air conversation about that.”

-Julie Kanfer