New Jersey gubernatoral candidate Chris Christie’s campaign sends word that he’ll be speaking Morris Knolls High School students on Monday.
I don’t mean to pick on Christie — a lot of politicians do this — but I’ve always wondered why candidates go to speak to students. At least in high school, there’s a chance that some of your audience is age 18, or will be by the time of the primary, June 2. If New Jersey has a relatively open primary — if you haven’t voted before, you can declare your party affiliation at the polling place — but school appearances would be even less likely to garner votes in states with closed primaries.
Then again, maybe the teens or children in the audience tell their parents how great the candidate is, in exchange for getting them out of first period Spanish class.
UPDATE: A reader notes:
Talking to students usually brings great local press, particularly all important television news. Parents like it, particularly the mothers. Makes them think the candidate/official cares about their children and educational issues. It’s a winner. What about the direct objects of the effort: the students? It’s a break from their classroom routine, so, of course they love it.
And with that, I depart for Easter weekend. Blogging will be light until Wednesday. Be forewarned that there is an emerging vacation tradition that my separation from the computer is likely to trigger dramatic, blog-worthy news.