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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks in Manchester, N.H., April 14. Christie proposed pushing back the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare for future retirees as part of a plan to cut deficits by $1 trillion over a decade, an approach he said would confront the nation's "biggest challenges in an honest way."

(AP Photo/Jim Cole, file photo)

By Marc S. Berman



Chris Christie is desperate. The Garden State's governor wants to be president. He may even make an official announcement someday. But his poll numbers are dropping. So Christie now spends his time arguing with people in Iowa and New Hampshire. The guv no longer has time to scold New Jerseyans on a daily basis. He forgets that we in New Jersey gave him prominence in the first place. I know that this is a "what have you done for me lately" world, but I still miss the love.



The real sign of Christie's desperation, though, is his recently announced plan to reform Social Security. He proposes raising the retirement age to 69. He would like to raise the early retirement age to 64. He advocates upping the Medicare eligibility age to 69. Christie further wants to phase out Social Security payments for retirees who earn more than $80,000 annually.



Is he nuts? Sure, Social Security and Medicare are going broke. But that's no excuse for a politician to offer concrete proposals to fix a problem. At least, not if that politician wants to get elected.



Hasn't Christopher learned anything from his Republican colleagues in Congress? They opposed Obamacare from the start. They voted umpteen times to repeal it. Did you ever hear them offer a specific program to replace the president's health plan? Of course not. For that lack of detail, the voters awarded the GOP full control of Congress last November.



Some Republicans think Christie is a RINO (Republican In Name Only). Their suspicions have a basis in fact. After all, when the president visited New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, Christie went out of his way to give Barack a hug. That public endorsement took place a week before the 2012 presidential election. The embrace torpedoed Mitt Romney's chances. (While Christie has denied that a hug took place, he has admitted to at least a "handshake.")



OK, so Christie may not look to the Tea Party for political advice. If he really is a closet liberal, let him look to what the liberal presidential candidates are doing. True, there are no liberal presidential "candidates." There is only one liberal candidate for president. At least there's only one with any chance of success. That's Hillary Clinton. What is Hillary's position on Social Security and Medicare? The great female hope has stated that reducing payouts, privatizing the programs, or lifting the retirement age, are all "off the table." How would she keep the programs solvent? Mrs. Clinton has advocated forming a bipartisan commission to study the issue. Presumably, the commission would not issue its recommendations until, say, Jan. 21, 2025.



There's an A-1 politician for you. Only maladjusted nerds do math these days. The author of "It Takes a Village" understands that you can't provide voters with a mathematical education ranked 36th in the world and then expect them to figure out complicated mathematical concepts. Like, for example, that a government program will go broke unless its revenues at least match what it pays out.



It's not too late for New Jersey Chris. The media has a short attention span. His momentary lapse into rationality will soon be forgotten. Here's hoping that, when Christie announces his positions on other major issues, he will not offer any specific proposals. If Christie can maintain that level of discipline, he may yet become the first Garden State governor to occupy the White House since Woodrow Wilson.



Marc S. Berman of Fair Lawn writes on politics, law and current events.



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