The quarterbacks who went first and second in the NFL draft lost in the playoffs on the same day; the other first-round quarterbacks from the latest draft didn't make the playoffs; the last man standing is Russell Wilson, passed on by all teams 'til the middle rounds of the draft because at 5-foot-11, he is "too short."

If Russell Wilson is too short, give me short!

Facing Baltimore, first overall selection Andrew Luck wilted under a steady blitz. Experienced quarterbacks want to be blitzed -- if Baltimore tries the same at Denver, Peyton Manning will eat the Ravens' lunch. But Luck is just a rookie, and looked like one during his first-round exit.

Facing Seattle, second overall selection Robert Griffin twisted his knee late in the first quarter, lost his amazing quickness, then lost the game. RG III throws himself at a defense, taking big hits. Experienced quarterbacks avoid big hits. But Griffin is just a rookie, and looked like one during his first-round exit.

Then there was Wilson. Washington blitzed him hard, and by the fourth quarter, he wanted to be blitzed, because he was beating this tactic like a veteran -- see more below. Wilson ran for 67 yards, including the game's longest rush, but whenever a defender had him in his sights, he stepped out of bounds, slid or threw the ball away.

Wilson played like a seasoned veteran. One reason is that he had the most college starts of the young-gun quarterbacks. Wilson started 50 games in college, versus 40 for Griffin and 38 for Luck. Add another dozen starts to RG III and he will avoid big hits. Add another dozen starts to Luck and he'll be looking forward to the blitz. Wilson already has these skills.

But he's too short! Plus he has a pencil-thin mustache. (Hard to be sure, but then that's the point.) Give me a quarterback with a pencil-thin mustache!

During the offseason, the Seahawks spent lavishly to acquire Matt Flynn, backup to Aaron Rodgers. Wilson was tabbed midway through the draft to be Flynn's understudy. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll saw how well Wilson performed in training camp, and had the guts to hand him the job, keeping the higher-paid quarterback on the bench.

Early in the year, Wilson ran a simplified offense. Forget the final call in the Seahawks-Packers game. Why was Seattle on the Green Bay 22 in the first place? In a last-second drive, Wilson did not panic. By season's end, Wilson was running a full offense, and running it well. Sunday, the Seahawks faced fourth-and-1 with 3:21 remaining. In a simplified offense, Wilson would have handed off and watched. Carroll let Wilson play-fake and throw: first down, and the contest was on ice.

Soon touts will be saying that Luck and RG III next season will rise to the top as heirs to the mantles of Tom Brady and the Manning brothers. Consider instead this proposition: Russell Wilson may be the NFL's best young quarterback.

Besides Wilson's talents, the opening playoff weekend showed that if there were any doubt, the NFL is a passing league.

Washington and Minnesota went into the weekend as first- and second-ranked rushing teams, and both lost. Both could not complete forward passes, and if you can't pass in a passing league, it does not matter how well you rush.

Beginning in 1935, the NFL had 46 consecutive seasons with more rushes than passes. In 1984, there were more passes than rushes, a trend that has continued. The NFL just completed the 29th consecutive season in which the ball was thrown more than run.

In 2012, NFL teams averaged a net of 231 passing yards and 116 rushing yards. A decade before in 2002, the averages were 212 passing yards and 116 rushing yards. Step back another decade to 1992, the averages were 188 passing yards and 110 rushing yards. Step back to 1982 , the averages were 199 passing yards and 118 rushing yards. In the last generation, NFL rushing averages have declined a tiny bit, while passing averages are up 16 percent.

It's a passing league. Rushing helps but is not the determining factor. If you don't have a top quarterback, in the NFL you are toast. And the Seattle Seahawks may have the best young quarterback.

Hail to North Dakota State, the real champion of college football. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

In college football news, the newly crowned champion is a repeat champion. I don't refer to the Alabama Crimson Tide. I refer to North Dakota State.

Division I-AA has a playoff system that determines a titleholder, while the BCS bowls are essentially highly hyped exhibition games. As TMQ noted in September, throughout last year it was the banner of North Dakota State, not of Alabama, that hung in the hall of champions at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. Now Alabama repeats as BCS victor, but it is the banner of North Dakota State that will remain at NCAA headquarters another year. North Dakota State, not Alabama, is the college football champion

Hail to the Bison!

Stats of the Week No. 1: Seattle won on the road in the playoffs for the first time in 29 years.

Stats of the Week No. 2: Minnesota finished 0-5 when playing outdoors.

Stats of the Week No. 3: The Ravens, who go on the road to Denver, under coach John Harbaugh are 34-7 in Baltimore and 25-23 away.

Stats of the Week No. 4: In the postseason, Houston is 2-0 versus Cincinnati, and has never beaten any other team.

Stats of the Week No. 5: Marvin Lewis is 0-4 in the playoffs as a head coach.

Stats of the Week No. 6: In the first quarter, the Redskins had 129 yards of offense; the Seahawks had 28. For the remainder of the contest, the Seahawks had 352 yards of offense and the Redskins had 74.

Stats of the Week No. 7: Last season Green Bay and New England, the two worst defenses, won the first seeds. This season, home field advantage went to Denver, with the second-best defense, and Atlanta, at 24th. Three of the last four first seeds have gone to weak defensive teams.

Stats of the Week No. 8: After the 2008 (Arizona), 2009 (Indianapolis) and 2011 (Giants) regular seasons, the lowest-ranked rushing team made the Super Bowl. After the 2012 regular season the 29th-ranked rushing team (Atlanta) won the NFC first seed.

Stats of the Week No. 9: In the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M, Oklahoma gained 401 yards on offense, turned the ball over just once and lost by four touchdowns.

Stats of the Week No. 10: Next weekend the Broncos host Baltimore at Sports Authority Field. Peyton Manning is 2-7 in outdoor games played in January.

After a breakout 2012, Russell Wilson, No. 3, and Marshawn Lynch are looking to lead Seattle to a Super Bowl. Harry E. Walker/Getty Images

Sweet Play of the Week: The host Redskins leading 14-13 with 10 minutes remaining, Seattle faced third-and-5 on the Washington 27. RG III was playing hurt, but so was the Bluish Men Group kicker. Marshawn Lynch took an inside handoff, then cut outside. Lynch and quarterback Russell Wilson saw a lane to the end zone -- and Wilson sprinted ahead of Lynch to get the final block, the touchdown and the winning points. Quarterback not only gets a big block, he outruns his own tailback. Sweet.

Sour Play of the Week: Ravens leading 24-9, Indianapolis faced fourth-and-1 on the Baltimore 18 with 5:38 remaining. The Colts came out empty backfield -- needing only one yard! The call was a dinky-dunky sideways super-short throw that was intercepted and returned to the Indianapolis 44, icing the contest for the Nevermores.

Empty backfield on fourth-and-1! The football gods surely waxed wroth. Though, TMQ must note the Seahawks went empty backfield for their deuce attempt and converted, an NFL two-point try being essentially a fourth-and-2.

One thing happening with the Colts' fourth-and-1 decision was that with offensive coordinator and backup head coach Bruce Arians in the hospital with the flu, quarterbacks coach Clyde Christiansen was the play-caller. Quarterbacks coaches want their quarterbacks to make the plays, and may call too many passes. On fourth-and-1, the quarterback doesn't need to be alone in the backfield.

Sweet 'N' Sour Play of the Week: Though Robert Griffin was shaky due to injury, the Redskins still entered the fourth quarter holding the lead at home.

The previous week versus Dallas, Washington was blitz-wacky, blitzing on about half of the Cowboys' snaps, and it worked. But Dallas is a team with low football IQ; the Seahawks possess football IQ.

Washington blitzed a lot against Seattle, knocking the Seahawks back out of field goal range with a big blitz on third-and-9. Now Seattle, trailing 14-13, faces third-and-10 on its 46 with nine minutes remaining. Washington blitzes five. Russell Wilson by this point expects the blitz and hits tight end Zach Miller with a quick curl for a 22-yard gain, setting up the go-ahead touchdown. Sweet for Seattle. For the Redskins, their blitzing became so predictable, by the fourth quarter it worked in Seattle's favor. Sour for Washington.

Penn State Miasma Gets Even Deeper: TMQ lauds Bill O'Brien for not walking out after a single year for more money in the NFL. Forswearing big bucks in order to keep his promise to a troubled college speaks well of O'Brien as a person of character. That Penn State even at a low point can inspire loyalty speaks well of the school.

Character is not a word that comes to mind regarding Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. As Pennsylvania's attorney general, in 2009 he convened a grand jury on the Penn State football child rape allegations, then known to only a handful of people beyond the victims. More than two years passed before the allegations became an indictment. Legal proceedings often are slow, but should be accelerated when there is reason to suspect ongoing crimes. Instead Corbett took his time. Inaugurated as governor in January 2011, Corbett acquired a seat on the Penn State board of trustees, yet said nothing about his knowledge that there was all but certainly a monster loose on the campus, again failing to prevent future victims.

Bill O'Brien's ties to the New England Patriots should make him an intriguing option as a future NFL head coach. Rob Carr/Getty Images

Sometimes law enforcement officials tolerate having criminals on the loose in order to set traps for them -- this is the nature of stings. But Corbett set no traps for Jerry Sandusky, Corbett just dragged his feet. Most states, and federal standards, forbid the disclosure of information learned during grand jury proceedings, until such time as indictments may be issued. But no rule of legal ethics forbids a prosecutor from providing to third parties information obtained in any way other than during a grand jury session. Corbett could have warned the Penn State board; he could have warned the public.

Recall that in 2008, Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney for Chicago, revealed that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to sell appointment to Barack Obama's old Senate seat. It took four years to convict Blago of corruption in office; he is now in prison. The U.S. attorney wanted to make sure the crime in progress -- selling an office -- stopped right away. Corbett, as the Pennsylvania attorney general, should have been concerned with stopping Sandusky's crimes right away. Instead Corbett dragged his feet, doing nothing.

Now we know why Corbett did nothing -- because he's content with the appearance that money for Penn State football is more important than safeguarding children.

Last week Corbett filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the NCAA's sanctions against Penn State. The lawsuit is a transparent publicity stunt. That Gov. Corbett uses the courts for a publicity stunt makes one wonder if he was competent as an attorney general. That he hired an outside law firm to push his inane case makes one wonder in what other ways he is wasting Pennsylvania taxpayers' money. That he wants Penn State to enjoy the benefits of NCAA membership without facing the consequences of violations sets a terrible example.

The suit has little chance of success, as it is hard to believe Corbett has "standing." Generally, individuals can't storm into court filing lawsuits against whatever they dislike: they must be a party to the controversy. Penn State could sue over the NCAA sanctions, but the NCAA did not sanction Gov. Corbett, so where is his standing? (Corbett does not have standing as a board member because boards act by majority; the Penn State Board of Trustees could sue the NCAA, but individual members cannot.) That Gov. Corbett theatrically announced a lawsuit likely to be tossed out of court over standing, a concept taught in One L, again calls into question whether he was competent as an attorney general.

Gov. Corbett said he filed the suit to restore "the prominence of the Penn State football program," in order to bring money to "local businesses and the citizens of Pennsylvania." These are deeply disturbing words. It seems that Corbett thought Penn State football money mattered more than acting quickly to protect children from abuse.

Corbett closed his publicity-stunt press conference by complaining that the NCAA sanctions punish the school community generally, not Sandusky specifically. The whole point of the NCAA sanctions was to punish the Penn State community! The NCAA has no criminal jurisdiction over Sandusky or others who may be convicted in the case; it does have jurisdiction over institutional misconduct by a member. Though 99.9 percent of Penn State students, faculty and alumni knew nothing about the crimes, nevertheless there had to be institutional consequences. Had football gone on as if nothing happened, that would have made Penn State's shame worse.

Penn State deserves credit for disassociating itself last week from Gov. Corbett's cheap publicity stunt and reiterating that it accepts the NCAA's judgment. For Penn State and its community of students, faculty and alumni to accept the sanctions shows they feel remorse regarding the school's sins. But the whole turn of events gives the impression that institutional rot in high places in Pennsylvania is worse than feared. The rot extends to the governor's office.

Actual location where the Minnesota Vikings practiced for their date at Green Bay. EyesWideOpen/Getty Images

Bring Back Bud Grant: One of TMQ's immutable laws holds, Cold Coach = Victory. Last week, preparing to play a game at frigid Lambeau Field -- kickoff temperature 29 degrees -- the Vikings practiced indoors because coach Leslie Frazier didn't want to be out in the cold, as noted by reader Eric Pepin of Roseville, Minn.

Bud Grant, who would not allow heaters on the Minnesota sideline back when the team played outdoors, must have blanched. One reason Bill Belichick's Patriots have been a dominant postseason team is that they practice outside. The Flying Elvii are 57-14 under Belichick from Dec. 1 on, partly because they practice in cold and are not afraid to play in the cold. The Vikings practiced in warmth, then played poorly in cold.

Hell Installs Furnace System: You can't make this sort of thing up.

Indianapolis at Baltimore: This once-and-future-Colts pairing was decided by what did not happen -- six times Andrew Luck hit his receivers with perfect passes, and they did not make a routine catch. Had Colts receivers not dropped so many passes, the outcome might have been different.

Ray Lewis, playing his final game before the Baltimore crowd, also dropped a routine catch. An errant Luck throw hit Lewis on the hands: he bobbled it twice, then the ball hit the ground. In addition to a cyborg-style arm brace, Lewis wore a tinted visor and a faceguard that looked like security fencing. Lewis seemed to be in costume to play a Breen on Star Trek. All the stuff in front of his face surely meant he could not see the ball properly.

No wonder he couldn't see to catch the ball. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Ravens blitzed a great deal and the Indianapolis offensive line, with problems at right tackle, thrice allowed rushers a free run, unblocked, to hammer Luck. In the first half, Luck tried to make the standard response to the big blitz, by throwing deep -- in a big blitz, the corners are in single coverage. But Luck failed to complete any deep strikes in the first half; in the second half, the Colts went to dink-and-dunk passing, which meant the defense was dictating the terms.

Baltimore played with great emotion, owing to Lewis' return, his final home contest and the surprising fact that Lewis was able to perform well. Lewis is a sure Hall of Fame entrant. He's also the last of a dying breed, having spent his entire 17-year career in the same place.

Now Baltimore heads to Denver, which has won 11 straight, has the best overall stats in the NFL (only team in the top five in both offense and defense) and possesses the altitude advantage of Sports Authority Field. Obviously Peyton Manning has played well. More important, Denver has talent across the board. In retrospect, it may be that the reason Tim Tebow was able to take the Broncs to the playoffs last season is that the club was on the upswing of a talent cycle. Offensive line, front seven, secondary -- the Broncos have quality and depth.

Ray Lewis meets with the sports media after the game. Paramount/CBS

Both AFC divisional contests -- Houston at New England and Baltimore at Denver -- have the makings of a walkover. Of course TMQ's motto is All Predictions Wrong or Your Money Back.

Republicans, Democrats, Lemmings Meet at Fiscal Cliff: At least the fiscal cliff deal announced last week had an element of humor relief -- the claim by President Barack Obama, embraced uncritically in news reports, that the tax details are permanent. "Permanent" in this sense appears to mean "may last a couple years, depending which way the wind blows."

George W. Bush's 2001 tax cut was written as a measure that would expire in a decade. The legislation was gimmicked that way to prevent the Congressional Budget Office from projecting trillion-dollar deficits far into the future. Obama's payroll tax holiday was presented as a one-year expedient, then extended twice. Last week's action is "permanent" only in comparison to measures such as these, which were programmed to self-destruct. Congress can change any detail of the "permanent" agreement reached last week, and change any detail any time it pleases. The 112th Congress which just closed shop enacted three major tax bills, each amending the most recent. Nothing is "permanent" in tax policy. That's part of the problem.

As for the fiscal cliff agreement, it may charitably be called a fiasco.

Obama achieved the political goal of raising taxes on the top 1 percent. For some, this was visceral: The Democratic Party's left wing longs to punish the making of money. The president's motive was straightforward: in November, the public voted for higher taxes on the rich, so Obama fulfilled a campaign promise. Increased taxation of the rich clearly was necessary, but also was the sole politically attractive fiscal maneuver available. Now it's been used up -- the arrow has been shot. Tax-the-rich is no longer available as a deficit-fighting policy alternative.

A lemming searches for the fiscal cliff. Argus Fin

Last week every difficult decision about revenue and spending was kicked down the road. What's being depicted as a great bipartisan achievement really was a mutual Republican-Democratic decision to pretend something happened.

Higher rates on the topmost incomes cannot alone stop growth of the national debt. Defense cuts, entitlement reductions, more taxes on the middle class -- there's no long-term solution (other than an eight-cylinders economic boom) that does not involve defense and entitlement cuts plus raising taxes on average people, who for a generation have enjoyed steadily higher government benefits at lower federal income-tax rates. Defense cuts, entitlement reductions and middle-class taxes are the crunch issues of confronting the national debt. Yet for the second consecutive time — the debt-ceiling showdown of 2011, now the fiscal-cliff showdown on 2012 — all action on substantive issues was studiously avoided.

Medicare taxes on the affluent were already scheduled to rise this year by 0.9 percent to underwrite part of Obamacare. (They are only 0.9 percent increases, certainly not 1 percent increases!) Mid-affluent taxpayers who own stocks will see a scheduled 3.8 percent rise in the capital gains tax to underwrite another part of Obamacare. (It is certainly not a 4 percent rise!) But any serious deficit reduction will require higher taxes on the middle class too.

At least the higher taxes on the rich, agreed to last week, raise $60 billion annually to reduce the deficit. No wait, the deficit does not shrink. Having legislated $60 billion in new revenue, Congress immediately spent every penny.

"We have reached a bipartisan agreement. Both parties will pretend they accomplished something." AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Half of the new revenue was spent to award another year's extension of unemployment benefits. Loss of unemployment benefits is a severe concern in the lives of some Americans. The unemployment premium deducted from paychecks funds 26 weeks of benefits. Already many who lost jobs have received a year and a half of benefits free, and now the figure rises to two and a half years free. Most people would rather be working than receiving unemployment checks, but two and a half years of free pay is pretty generous. As the new book A Nation of Takers shows in great detail, social welfare policy treats middle America more generously than most pundits and activists claim. One key fact from the book: when John Kennedy was president, 28 percent of U.S. households drew federal benefits, while today 48 percent do.

The other $30 billion raised last week has already been spent to prevent a scheduled reduction of Medicare physician payments. TMQ pointed out last year that at the end of the Clinton administration, Congress mandated a reduction in Medicare physician payments -- then annually since has postponed the reduction. Last week's action marks the 13th consecutive year Congress postponed cuts in Medicare payments. The ObamaCare plan becomes an ocean of red ink without the assumption of $716 billion in unspecified future Medicare reductions. If the White House and both parties in Congress lack the will to cut Medicare by $30 billion today, how is a $716 billion future reduction magically supposed to happen? The claimed future Medicare cut appears pure make-believe. That means the looming national debt will be much higher than the White House is pretending.

In Washington, both parties are wasting your money as fast as they can. Bertrand Guay/AFP/GettyImages

Last week's "fiscal discipline" decision included about $40 billion in new tax cuts to special-interest groups and campaign donors. Twelve billion more in tax credits for wind energy, extending what was sold, at enactment in 1990, as a short-term transitional plan. Two billion dollars in subsidies for biodiesel, a very costly alternative fuel at a time of cheap natural gas. A $225 million tax giveaway to rum producers. Tax giveaways to subsidize auto racing, a vital component of the economy. These and other pork-barrel expenditures buried in the fiscal-cliff deal were said to be paid for by new revenue from a change in tax treatment of IRAs. But that change, which essentially borrows tax revenue from the future and spends it now, makes the country's long-term fiscal picture worse.

To top off the fiasco, delaying the sequester by three months, as Congress and the White House just did, adds about $27 billion to the national debt. Don't worry, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Congress will make up that amount -- with unspecified future cuts at an unspecified time.

In sum, last week Congress and the White House pretended to agree to a deficit-cutting plan, then immediately increased the deficit. "Fiscal discipline" did not last till the end of the first day!

Coaches' Employment Office: Bruce Arians, fired by the Steelers as offensive coordinator after the 2011 season, now is a hot name for head coaching vacancies. Surely the football gods chortle.

As for Chip Kelly, who has interviewed for three NFL jobs in recent days, why did he consider leaving his great gig at Oregon -- fabulous program, beautiful place to live, adoring college press corps, automatic win after automatic win -- for the knives-in-the-back environment of the NFL? Yes, the NFL pays more. But if you're making $3 million a year, Kelly's reported Oregon salary, money should not be your big concern in life.

Brett Favre must have given Chip Kelly pointers on how to make up his mind. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Kelly flirted with the mistake Steve Spurrier made when, in 2002, he left a great gig at Florida for the Redskins. Spurrier's multiple-receiver offense had been tearing up college football. He wanted that offense to tear up the pros, because this would cause him to be proclaimed a coaching genius. But Spurrier's "Fun and Gun" was not that different from the four-wide-receiver "Run and Shoot" offense that had been used in the NFL a decade before, by teams such as Atlanta and Houston. At Florida, Spurrier played with a gigantic recruiting edge over his rivals; at the Redskins, he had to work with the same level of talent as everybody else. Spurrier's offense flopped in the NFL, then Spurrier flopped. He got a big severance check, but has been trying ever since then to recreate the great situation he walked away from at Florida.

Kelly may have hoped his Blur Offense would tear up the NFL, causing him to be proclaimed as a coaching genius. But the Patriots already use a very quick-snap attack. The Redskins, Seahawks, Panthers and Forty Niners already use the zone read the Ducks employ. At Oregon, Kelly has twice the talent as his rivals; at an NFL team, he'd be lucky to have a 5 percent talent edge. If Kelly someday jumps to the NFL, it may not be long until he is cashing a generous severance check and trying to recreate something like the great situation he left at Oregon.

Minnesota at Green Bay: Any doubts about whether the NFL is now a passing league were resolved when the Vikings tried to perform with the sport's best running back but no quarterback. Why Minnesota did not simply have Adrian Peterson and Joe Webb alternate rushing in opposite directions is vexing. The Vikings finished the game averaging 5.8 yards per rush and 4.8 yards per pass. Adjusting for sacks and scrambles, Vikings coaches radioed in 22 rushing plays for Adrian Peterson, three rushing plays for Webb and 37 passing plays for Webb. Even once Minnesota was behind, that made no sense.

Trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, the Vikings punted on fourth-and-2. AP Photo/Mike Roemer

Trailing 24-3 with nine minutes remaining, the Vikings punted on fourth-and-2. Who cares if the spot was the Minnesota 17, that punt made victory impossible. It's the playoffs, there is no tomorrow! Going for it might have kept Minnesota's slim hopes alive. Punting made it certain the Vikes would lose. Why did Minnesota punt?

Then scoring to pull within 24-10 with three minutes remaining, rather than onside kick, Leslie Frazier had the Vikings kick away. Then after punting on fourth-and-2 when trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter -- with three seconds remaining, the Vikings spiked the ball to stop the clock and execute one final completely meaningless play. Oh.

The Packers snapped a recent troublesome streak in the playoffs at Lambeau Field -- Green Bay had won 13 consecutive home postseason games, then gone 2-4 in the postseason at home until Saturday. Green Bay has won 12 games but looks shaky. The Packers continue to line up in an empty backfield on third-and-short, which just can't be a good long-term strategy. They continue to use funky defensive fronts with only one man in a down stance.

Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 54 times so far because defenses don't need to honor the run. Green Bay's leading rusher for the season, Alex Green, had 464 yards. Thirty-seven players, including three quarterbacks, ran for more. It is a passing league, but that does not mean a team can advance by passing solely.

Gov. Chris Christie. He's against deficit spending, unless he benefits. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Christie Speaks from Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey: Last week was a busy one for spending borrowed money. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got a lot of attention for denouncing his fellow Republicans in Congress for delays in deficit-financed special federal aid linked to Hurricane Sandy. The mainstream media love it when Republicans turn against each other!

Bear in mind that just four months ago, giving the keynote address at the Republican National Convention, Christie declared to thundering applause, "The math of federal spending does not add up. With $5 trillion in debt added over the last four years, we have no other option but to make the hard choices, cut federal spending and fundamentally reduce the size of this government."

So when Christie can advance his career by denouncing deficit spending, he denounces deficit spending. When Christie can advance his career by demanding subsidies, he demands deficit spending for subsidies.

If Christie had said that seeing the Sandy devastation made him think he was wrong about the role of federal spending, that would have gotten my respect. But rather than admit he'd been wrong in his previous statements, he engaged in self-aggrandizing political hypocrisy. What a phony!

Some Sandy aid is needed. But how much will go to people and businesses who acted irresponsibly by not purchasing homeowners, renters or business insurance, or who moved into waterfront buildings while ignoring warnings about the need for flood insurance?