Love or hate Jeffrey Goldberg’s politics, he’s an unbelievably good writer. Love or hate Chris Christie’s politics, no one would say that he’s uninteresting. Love or hate Bruce Springsteen’s politics, no one with a heartbeat would say that he’s anything less than a musical genius. All of which means that Jeffrey Goldberg’s article about his night with Chris Christie at a Bruce Springsteen concert is about the most compelling reading you’ll find today.
As a personal editorial note, I’ll just say that the article pretty well encapsulates why I’ve come to have a fairly high amount of respect for my state’s governor, at least by politician standards, despite supporting the third party candidate in the election. Yes,this is something of a puff piece, but there’s a limit to how much can be faked in a puff piece. Christie is an actual human being with multiple layers and an actual capacity for independent thought. When he’s being insincere and just playing politics, which is fairly infrequent, you know it. There’s one brief passage in the linked piece where I think that insincerity comes out – see if you can spot it.
UPDATE: Scott Galupo’s response to Goldberg’s article pretty much nails what I was trying to get at in my second paragraph:
In the piece, Christie evinces many of the things — unbridled passion, outspokenness, and, yes, rudeness — I love about the place I’ll always consider my home state, no matter how long I live in the Old Dominion….
This has nothing to do, I should add, with the phenomenon of a politician seeming more “human” because of character flaws, like a history of infidelity. As far as we can tell from the outside, Christie seems like he’s as good a husband and father as Romney is.
In a word, Chris Christie is Jersey.
Just like, as Mark Bowden describes him, Ed Rendell is Philly, the other end of the axis of my homeplace…
Hmmm. I’m guessing his demurral about the Veep spot.Report
If I ever run a campaign, I’m going to make sure the PA system at the stump rallies never plays warmup tunes made by Republicans (if I can get away with it). John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen and other Demos ought to be able to contribute to larger society in some way.Report
You’ll have to hunt to find tunes made by Republicans in the first place, unless you’re playing the “f*** you america is awesome” style country music made for rednecks to listen to in between songs about big-ass trucks and wives who left them for less abusive husbands.Report
Or there’s always this:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiQyVLr0qjs&w=420&h=315%5D
Gotta give Parker & Stone credit, they take no prisoners in the service of comedy.Report
I think you’re failing at reading comprehension for this one.Report
Your contempt for “the other” never ceases to amaze.Report
Just play the bass line from “My City Was Gone” over and over and over and …Report
As regards Christie, I prefer this piece here.
“Sincerely held beliefs” about denying people civil rights are still wrong.Report
Must demur; Springsteen’s genius is self-evident only to certain ages and complexions. And it doesn’t hurt to share his faux-populist politics. You are not Tom Joad, you’re a fucking yuppie with matching side-by-side mansions, second-hand sentiments and pretentions of authenticity.
But I’ll say something nice about the Democrat Rendell out of a spirit of bonhomie. [Altho my GOP dad can’t understand why he’s a permanent fixture on the Eagles postgame show.] Ed’s a kick, and as MarkT notes here about Christie, when he’s fronting for his party or his allies, he lets his incerity show, a nod and wink.
Oh, oh—and I did catch The Weavers’ “Wasn’t That a Time” doc the other night. Now there were some real lefties, not Springsteenish epigones. Out there for the unions, civil rights, all the brave commie third world revolutionaries who took time out from killing to get killed themselves. The Weavers took big career hits to do what they thought was right, and they did it without a second thought. They lived their music, their politics, it was all interwoven.
And that pinko fuck Pete Seeger—what a talent, what a voice, what a musician, what a man! Now THERE was the real thing. THERE was your Tom Joad.
He’s still with us at 93. Here’s to you, Pete.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_SeegerReport
In other words, it’s impossible for Springsteen to actually believe his politics because he bought a nice house.Report
In other words, you have to stop picking out one phrase out of a whole thesis and pretend you have a point.
Shit, I just gave Pete Seeger megaprops, the commie bastard. What do you want from me?Report
There’s a thesis in your above comment, Tom?Report
I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again: I could die a happy man if the whole “Shorter” meme (and variations thereof) would just disappear. I assure you, it achieves nothing.Report
Shorter Mark: “!”Report
“Must demur; Springsteen’s genius is self-evident only to certain ages and complexions.”
I always knew you had a secret thing for Jon Corzine. 😉Report
Busted.Report
Most of Springsteen escapes me, but there’s some damn fine stuff on The Wild, The Innocent, and The E-Street Shuffle . In particular
The cops finally busted Madame Marie
For telling fortunes better than they could
is as good as anything that guy from Minnesota wrote.Report