Christie Phenomenon

Chris Christie of New Jersey has cut a wide swath through the political landscape this year by taking on the public service unions, in particular the teachers union.  He has done this through a series of town hall meetings in NJ in which he uses blunt talk and sarcasm like a scalpel to skewer his opponents.  His popularity has been rising and he is talked about as a presidential candidate frequently.  Here we have a NYTimes piece on the governor that demonstrates the confusion of the liberal media when it comes to dealing with issues that they are uncomfortable with, like runaway unions and huge deficits.  What's refreshing about this guy is, although a politician, he does not give in to the constant pandering to special interests we see among liberal pols and too often conservatives as well.  He seems to be saying let's just get this problem solved and move on and if you don't like the way I'm proposing to do this, let yourself be heard at the polls next time around.  This attitude reflects what many feel is the approach the founders had in mind that we should be governed by citizen politicians not professional ones who make the job a career.  No question careerists are always looking for individuals but especially groups to pander to in their non stop vote seeking.  It's a divide and conquer philosophy of governing which the liberals, as professional politicians, have long subscribed to and even perfected.  Ruin has a way of changing things, however, and we are in deep trouble these days.