I'm from the Government and You Are Fat!

Last month we saw the normal idiocy that is the New Jersey governor's race brought to a new low.

For those who do not live in the Garden State or nearby, we are blest every four years with some of the nastiest, ridiculous political ads you can imagine. Lackies and toadies for the opponent stalk the opponent with video cameras, waiting for the opponent to do something stupid (everyone does) and then they put it in a commercial. In a great piece of turnaround, I once saw Governor Christie Whitman introduce the toadie to the crowd at a fundraiser.

This year's idiocy involved a commercial where the announcer made thinly vailed references to Candidate Chris Chrisitie's weight. Mr. Christie is quite portly. So they ran a tape of him getting out of an SUV as only the caloric challenged can. Only problem: it backfired. Little did Jon Corzine suspect: Mr. Christie knows he's fat. The commercial made Governor Corzine look mean, and gave Christie a chance to make jokes and do something that comes naturally to him: act human. Mr. Corzine, for the very last time, proved he was out of touch: there are a lot of fat people in New Jersey, and a lot of people who have fat relatives; and they can vote. And now Chris Christie will be the next governor of the State of New Jersey.

Now, I'm not a big fan of Jon Corzine, a man whose only credential for the job was an unlimited bankroll and a dream of turning New Jersey into a socialist republic on his way to the White House. I'm also not a big fan of being mean. But I say "Bravo Jon Corzine." It is about time that a liberal politician laid the blame for a bad habit solely where it belonged: at the feet (or stomach) of the individual.

"What!!??" you are probably saying "This was not Governor Corzine's intention at all. Corzine's staff thought they could get away with a little joke and hope that all those people who snicker at our pudgy neighbors would enjoy the joke." Well, you may be right. But wouldn't it be great if you were wrong, just this time.

For too long, I've heard politicians tell constituents that it isn't their fault. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) blames smoking on "Big Tobacco." The fact that people have been warned by the Surgeon General about smoking for almost a half century has fallen on millions of deaf ears. When I see a twenty year old smoking, I severely doubt they never heard of the dangers of smoking. I would much rather see Senator Lautenberg stand in the smoking area outside of a building, yelling at smokers. The guy is a notorious SOB, he probably would be good at it. Let's replace the nanny state with the bullying state.

Governor Corzine will soon be out of job but has plenty of money to live on. Maybe he could spend his time wandering around malls telling fat people to lose weight, get out of the food court, and start exercising. He could tell them that they cannot blame McDonalds for those extra fifty pounds, because no one forced them to supersize. He could walk through the department stores and tell the ladies that if they want to fit in decent clothes, they should lose some weight first. He could warn them that wearing sweats is not a fashion statement; it is a cry for help.

There are other places where politicians could start blaming their constituents. Everyone complains about gas prices, but do they think of slowing down? I was on the highway in my compact car last years and I was passed by what I assume was one of the wealthiest people in the country. Why do I think that? Well, gas was at its highest and she was driving well over 90 in an SUV. Who could afford to drive like that? On the back of the SUV was an Obama sticker. I bet she got to work, grabbed a cup of coffee and complained about the price of oil. When gas prices went up, I slowed down. When the prices I came down my speed stayed down. I found out I could live at a slower speed.

But politicians don't work that way. They seldom talk about personal responsibility. It is not that they are not personally responsible. Some are, some are not. I would love to see one of those politicians get up at a rally or a fundraiser and say "You complain about gas prices and expect me to do something about it. Let me tell you, there are 147 SUVs in the parking lot. I bet only five of you actually need them." And I bet my 90 MPH driving friend would be deeply offended. Instead they would rather blame big oil, or blame OPEC, or speculators. None of these groups are sweethearts, but they make a lot less money if everyone slows down.

What I expect from my government is to keep me safe and secure. I do not expect them to keep me thin, that is why I spend so much time on the elliptical machine and doing sit-ups. I think we have all gotten the message about smoking, the time to blame Big Tobacco is long gone. Who likes the price of gas? But it ishard to be sympathetic to someone driving 20 mph over the speed limit! Taking out loans that you cannot afford is just as much the fault of the borrower as it is the lender. I'm not a libertarian, but the less we demand out of our government, the more it can focus on what we should expect about out them, like safety and security.

As for Chris Christie, he should lose some weight. There are a lot of things to get done, and we do not want his health to become an issue. Maybe Jon Corzine can become his personal trainer, it's not like he's that busy anymore.