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Hazardous hugs

 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, embraces Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, center, at Sunday’s playoff game.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, embraces Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, center, at Sunday’s playoff game.
Published Jan. 6, 2015

As potential presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie should know, politics can make for strange hug-fellows. Before attending Gov. Rick Scott's inauguration ceremonies Tuesday, Christie made a cameo over the weekend on national television. Decked out in a bright orange sweater, he was caught cheering on the Dallas Cowboys in their playoff victory Sunday against the Detroit Lions — and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones risked disappearing within the governor's enthusiastic man-hug. That hardly endeared Christie to fans of the New York Giants, New York Jets (who play their home games in East Rutherford, N.J.) and Philadelphia Eagles in his own backyard. And those states have a combined 63 Electoral College votes. Christie — a longtime Cowboys fan — should remember his man-hug history. Scott's predecessor, Charlie Crist, saw his future as a Republican critically wounded by his warm embrace of President Barack Obama. If Crist's hug hurt him in Florida, imagine the response to Christie's hug of the Cowboys owner by Giants fans.