"It was nobody's business other than mine," Chris Christie told the press today. He was talking about lap-band surgery for weight loss that he — surprise! — underwent in February.
Nobody's business? We cats say, please. Chris Christie is Governor of the 11th most populous state in the nation. And in that position he influences the daily lives of nearly 9 million Americans. But his health is not a public concern?
Reasonable people beg to differ. We cats say this knowing full well that one of our favorite Presidents, John F. Kennedy, hid his Addison's disease and other maladies from the American people. It is no excuse to note (which we do anyway) that 50 years ago, Camelot was another time and place — one in which the press corps was much less vigilant than today. Kennedy was wrong then, and Christie is wrong now.
In an era of Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and blogs, Governor Lap-Band cannot justify keeping his surgery secret — even if he doesn't run for President in 2016.
In the meantime, we cats continue to be amazed at today's Republicans' lack of respect for the concept of public service. They want all of the perks, but none of the obligations. Because disappearing for weight-loss surgery without a word to one's constituents is really no different from hiking the Appalachian Trail.
(IMAGE: Okay, we cats couldn't bear to run a photo of Christie, and we happen to be reading Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell novels, so here's a pic of another fat guy with a sense of entitlement. Enjoy!)
1 comment:
Your other posts are brilliantly written and one of my favorite words "trenchat" but your Chris Christie post was really fund to read. And showing Hank instead of
Chris was inspired.
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