It was one of — if not THE — turning point of the 2012 election: President Obama and Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) together on the Jersey Shore, touring the devastation after Superstorm Sandy. Now six months after the storm, the President will tour the damage with the Governor again. And that means you could soon be hearing a familiar groan from republicans. Following Mitt Romney’s defeat in November, there was plenty of blame to go around, but few public figures received more of it than Christie, who many on the right pointed the finger at for abandoning partisanship in favor of responding to a natural disaster-induced crisis. Just as he did before, don’t expect Christie to apologize for hosting the President, and don’t expect either leader to discuss politics or their complicated relationship. President Obama’s Tuesday’s visit follows a series of Memorial Day weekend events where he had to reprise his role as healer-in-chief. On Sunday, the President toured the destruction from last week’s tornado in Oklahoma. On Monday, he honored the nation’s fallen troops at Arlington National Cemetary. But while Tuesday’s Jersey Shore tour will likely resurrect somber memories, the visit is expected to inspire a feeling of hope and rebirth. Just don’t expect all republicans to see it that way. We’ll talk relief and recovery when we see you at noon ET on msnbc.
PANEL
Bob Herbert, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos (@bobherbert)Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Editor, The Nation (@katrinanation)Ron Fournier, Editorial Director, National Journal (@ron_fournier)John Cassidy, Staff Writer, The New Yorker (@tnyjohncassidy)
GUESTBill de Blasio, NYC Public Advocate/NYC Mayor Candidate (@billdeblasio)
REPORTERPeter Alexander
Robert Gifford