How many times has Chris Christie seen Bruce Spirnsteen in concert?
Many, many more times than I've seen George Strait in concert.
Many, many more times than I ever saw the great Bobby Short sing cabaret classics.
But not quite more than all the live music concerts that I've ever seen combined.
Not yet.
Still, Christie will see Springsteen perform for the 127th time tomorrow night,
Yes, Chris Christie has been a Bruce Springsteen fan for a long, long time -- long before Christie became Governor and long before he bacame a national sensation.
But as far as anyone can tell, Bruce Spirngsteen has never officially acknowledged Christie's devotion. The self-proclaimed "Boss" apparently has so many devoted fans -- so many reverential worshipers -- that it's simply impossible to begin acknowledging them by name, even if they are famous and if if one of them does govern his home state.
And then there's this: Chris Christie is a Republican and a fiscal conservative. But Bruce Springsteen is, by all acounts a liberal Democrat whose songs plead the case of the downtrodden -- the down-and-out, the unemployed and/or the underemployed who suffer at the hands of mammoth, monied interests. And Springsteen did support and perform for Obamna and Biden in 2008.
But Christie see no conflict here.
He says he cares about the marginalized and the forgotten ones as well. The Governor says this is why he's working so hard to prime the Garden State's economy and create more jobs. And this is why Christie made a special trip to the new Revel casino/hotel/resort in Atlantic City yesterday -- to welcome thousands of new jobs there and reiterate the state's bet that this new enterprise will be the linchpin of Atlatic City's rejuvenation and a key component of Christie's Jersey Comeback.
Christie sees himself and The Brucer pursuing the same goal, albeit perhaps from different angles and with different roles to play.
How does Springsteen see it?
We really don't know yet.
But The Gov has invited The Boss to come to Atlantic City and perform in Revel's spectacular new showroom over Memorial Day weekend.
Christie says he will be there to kick off the festivities.
Will Springsteen be there as well?
I'm tempted to say "Don't bet on it."
But this is Atlatic City, so . . . . roll those dice, spin that wheel, pull that lever and let's see what happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment