A game he cannot win

Chris Christie has appeared a few times on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Each time Christie does so Fallon pulls out a few fat jokes. Melissa McEwen of Shakesville says Christie can be a "good sport" – laugh as he's being ridiculed – or he's accused of being "too sensitive" or "humorless." Christie is pushed into a game he cannot win. Which is the nature of oppression.

But why fat jokes? Why isn't Fallon making jokes about the odious statements coming out of Christie's campaign, such as wanting to tag immigrants like FedEx packages. That is something that deserves mockery.

Fallon relies on fat jokes because (1) they're a lot easier than jokes based on Christie's agenda and (2) fat jokes also ridicule all the fat people in the country. A twofer!

McEwen has noticed that every time she defends Christie against fat jokes she gets comments from progressives that Christie shouldn't be defended for any reason. She's hurting the progressive cause. But McEwen resists that. She holds herself to a higher standard. She will call out every one of Christie's odious policies. But she will continue to see Christie and all of his conservative colleagues as human beings worthy of respect. That's even though she knows she would never get the same consideration from them. She refuses to race Christie to the bottom.