President Barack Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie promoted the Jersey shore’s summer tourism economy Tuesday while praising the federal government’s role in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, reprising their beach-buddy routine in a display of mutual assistance with potential political dividends.
Despite a steady drizzle, the Democratic president and the Republican governor tried their hand at arcade football, and the president declared that the state’s popular shore was back seven months after the devastating storm bore down on its famed boardwalks and seaside towns.
“You are stronger than the storm,” Obama said, borrowing a line that Christie himself uses in a federally funded advertising campaign touting Jersey shore tourism. “After all you’ve dealt with, after all you’ve been through, the Jersey shore is back and it is open for business.”
After the rapport the men established in the wake of the October storm, Tuesday’s joint tour from Point Pleasant Beach to Asbury Park held opportunities for both. Obama, eager to put a competent face on the federal government after the troubles facing the Internal Revenue Service, used the visit to praise the response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. For Christie, it was a chance to showcase the state’s cherished beaches and draw attention to a $40 billion industry in the state.
Republicans criticized Christie last year for praising Obama’s response to the storm in the days before the presidential election and for allowing himself to be seen prominently with the president.
This time, the imagery is less powerful but equally convenient. Christie is running for re-election in a Democratic-leaning state, and Obama gets to be seen with a high-visibility Republican at a time when such bipartisanship is rare in Washington.
If conservatives remain wary of Christie’s overtures, Christie showed them one way to beat Obama: with a flick of a football. At a boardwalk arcade on Point Pleasant, the Democratic president and the GOP governor took turns tossing footballs at a tire. Obama shot zero for five; Christie went one for one.
Later, before a crowd of almost 4,000 in Asbury Park, Obama said the job of repairing the $38 billion in damage inflicted by the storm is not over. He said his return visit was intended to show he’s still committed to putting the federal government to work.
In introducing the president, Christie noted that Obama visited the state two days after the storm hit “to see the damage for himself, to pledge his support and the support of the federal government to help us recover and rebuild.
“Republicans, Democrats, independents — we all came together, because New Jersey is more important and our citizens are more important than any kind of politics at all,” Christie said. “So now, seven months later, we know this, that we’ve made great progress, but that we still have so much more to do.”
Obama said his message to residents in storm-ravaged New Jersey also holds true for those in Oklahoma recovering from the May 20 tornado that killed 24 people and devastated the community of Moore.
“When we make a commitment that we got your back, we mean it,” Obama said. Gesturing to his host, Obama praised Christie for “the great work he’s done here” in leading the recovery effort.
About the Author
