From Chris Christie Headquarters, February 2015

Mr Peel

Mr Peel lives and works in New Jersey. He has a master's degree in history, with a focus on the history of disease and the history of technology.

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9 Responses

  1. Troublesome Frog says:

    I love this.Report

  2. Christopher Carr says:

    I’m guessing shortly after this conversation took place Smith was fired and picked up by the Trump campaign?Report

  3. Damon says:

    “Obviously, the preceding was a fictionalized account of an early strategy session of the Chris Christie campaign.”

    Really?! Has the ring of truth to it in my opinion.Report

    • Troublesome Frog in reply to Damon says:

      It probably is at least a little bit true, with the possible exception of the politician being hesitant to actually lie. Frankly, if your political advisor isn’t telling you that you should just lie, you should probably fire your political advisor. By all appearances, lying costs practically nothing. Even getting caught is no big deal. On the other side of the scale, gets you out of answering uncomfortable questions in a debate, and those uncomfortable questions are where politicians stumble and kill off their campaigns. So why risk it when you can just lie at no cost?

      Years ago, the conventional wisdom among political advisors turned to, “Never apologize, even if you were wrong. Your enemies won’t give you credit for it. Your friends were with you either way. People in the middle will just see you admit that you were wrong and act kind of weak. Apologizing prolongs it. Just ignore it and it will go away.” This advice is not moral advice on how to be a good leader or a good person. It’s political advise based on the latest research and the data supports it being true. I don’t see how “Just lie” would be any different. It’s objectively a winner.Report

  4. Stillwater says:

    What a lovable fiction: Chris Christie, man of integrity corrupted by his advisers!!Report

    • Dan Scotto in reply to Stillwater says:

      The candidate is responsible for his/her decisions. In my estimation, Christie had the option to try to explain his heresies. Instead, he chose to lie, pretty flagrantly.Report

  5. pillsy says:

    I’m just upset because if he drops out, it means he’s coming back to New Jersey.Report

  6. (Obviously, the preceding was a fictionalized account of an early strategy session of the Chris Christie campaign.)

    Own it Dan; it’s a lie 🙂Report

  7. Patrick says:

    I have been backlogged and I only just now got to read this.

    Brilliant. I heard all of Christie’s lines in his own voice. Stellar writing, sir.Report