Dressed in baggie chinos, a golf shirt, and penny loafers, Gov. Chris Christie (R., N.J.) struck the image of just your average dad as he jiggled his still-formidable girth next to Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night's "Tonight Show."
In a take-off of last year's viral video hit "The Evolution of Mom Dancing" featuring First Lady Michelle Obama, Christie played along with Fallon as the duo honored Father's Day with "The Evolution of Dad Dancing."
You can already hear critics preparing their condemnation of the governor's participation in the comedy sketch. I suspect the criticisms will be along these lines:
"This diminishes the office he holds."
"Why go on a show with that liberal Jimmy Fallon who's in the tank for Obama?"
"Why jiggle your body like that on TV? He's reminding everyone that he's fat!"
"He won't be taken seriously anymore."
But, is this really a bad move?
Christie has always been able to strike the posture of "regular guy." His recent troubles over the closure of the George Washington Bridge allowed for the "imperious, bully, mob boss" narrative to take hold, and he's had a tough six months trying to rehabilitate his image.
Enter Jimmy Fallon with an opportunity to reverse that trend.
Forget about appearances on late night shows and participating in their hijinks as "diminishing the office." That ship sailed long ago and has been taken to new lows by President Obama. And Fallon may be in the tank with the Obama ideologically, but right now his main priority is building his television program and bringing in national figures such as Christie, who are willing to be a part of his show's content. That transcends, for now, his political leanings.
Regarding the Governor's physical appearance: Chris Christie is fat. He knows it. You know it. We all know it. What's he supposed to do? Only allow himself to be photographed from the chest up?
By dancing and jiggling and shaking his groove thing on national television (and virally on your Facebook page), he sends a stronger message that can withstand any snark about his appearance. He's telling the world that he's comfortable with who he is and he's not ashamed of it. It's actually the anti-Obama approach.
Whenever Obama ventures into pop-culture and entertainment environments he always goes to great pains to deliver the same, excruciatingly self-conscious message: "I am so cool."
Whether it's "Slow-jamming the news" with Fallon or smacking down Zach Galifianakis on "Between Two Ferns," it's always the same delivery, same act, same desperate plea. "Please notice that I am cooler than you. Now respect me and gaze in awe."
The fact that Christie is going for the "I'm just a regular guy and I know I'm fat but I don't mind letting you laugh with me while I dance" message makes him 100 percent more accessible, and likable than Obama, or, for that matter, Hillary Clinton.
For anyone worried about whether Christie will not be taken seriously as a contender for the GOP nomination because of this performance, well, I do fear that this may be a concern that has legs. But not through any fault of the governor.
The Republican Party tends to be somewhat humorless and stodgy. Even though the American people might accept Christie's hijinks and even warm to him because of all of the above mentioned reasons, the party elders of the GOP won't "get it" and they may be the ones who disqualify Christie because of his ability to speak in the pop-culture vernacular. And that would be a real shame.