But when Christie went to war with a local mayor and blocked off crucial traffic to shore communities in the aftermath of 2012′s largest storm, the media rewarded him with glowing coverage and President Obama came up to the Garden State to give his personal support. Even still-living rock star Bruce Springsteen met with the governor. Prior to that, Springsteen had long given Christie the cold shoulder rather than expressing gratitude that the 2016 presidential hopeful remained a fan nearly 40 years after Springsteen’s last listenable album.

Christie got a lovefest in 2012 because his bullying tactics — which included attacking Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford for providing shelter to displaced residents, repeatedly calling shore stalwarts “stupid” and “irresponsible,” and even punishing people who obeyed his evacuation order by closing roads back into barrier islands days after the storm had passed — because his nanny state impulses in that case appealed to liberal worshipers of government power, who hate the individual liberties on which this country was founded.

“If something looks like it’s stupid, it’s stupid,” Christie sagely announced at the time, adding “Don’t be stupid.”