After the extensive damage Irene levied on New Jersey, 850,000 customers were left without power and 15,000 residents were in shelters. Now, with only 40,000 customers without power and 450 people in shelters, Governor Chris Christie rescinded last week's directive to "Get the hell off the beach" with an appropriate rejoinder at a press conference yesterday: "Get the hell back on the beach!" Damn! Hell! Bastard! Casual swearing doesn't have to mean casual governing.
According to the Millburn-ShortHills Patch, Christie was goaded into the sound byte (NO!) by a local television reporter, who remarked that Christie's earlier statement to "come, take a deep breath and enjoy the last beautiful weekend of summer," was "too subtle." Yet perhaps even the cursing was still not enough to placate one Garden State visitor: "If it was Jon Bon Jovi, then I'd be excited." Duly noted. But what if the Governor said it…from a helicopter? We thought so.
