NJ Dems dub Palin and Christie the 'oddest couple'

New Jersey Democrats are working to tie Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) to former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), dubbing the two the "oddest couple" in a satirical video over the ongoing clamoring for both to enter the GOP presidential race in 2012.

The video, released Thursday by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, mimics the opening credits of 1970s television show "The Odd Couple," using the show's original theme song but featuring cutouts of Palin and Christie traversing New York City.

"Can two reluctant candidates share the adoration of discouraged Republicans without driving each other crazy? The Oddest Couple," the narrator says, "based on the play, The Odder Couple, starring Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann."

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is a candidate in the presidential contest; former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race in August after failing to garner enough support in Iowa's influential straw poll.

The state party wrote on its website that the video's purpose was "to help voters understand the current state of the Republican presidential field." But it's unclear whether the political goal is to drag down Christie's public image within the state or to warn voters in other parts of the country about New Jersey's bombastic governor, as both Democrats and Tea Party Republicans in Texas have done with Rick Perry.

The state Democratic committee did not respond to messages inquiring about the video.

"Given the state of the Democratic Party in New Jersey, it would really seem that this is a shoot-from-the-hip, 'we're going to get you' jab," said Brigid Harrison, a political scientist at New Jersey's Montclair State University, noting that Christie's success in enacting an agenda far more conservative than the state's electorate has only been possible because Democrats who control the Legislature cow-towed to Christie.

Christie's approval ratings in New Jersey had been dropping for much of 2011, but have recently started swinging upward. A Fairleigh Dickinson University/PublicMind survey released Tuesday showed 54 percent of voters in the state approve of his performance.

"This is by far the worst Web video I've ever seen," said Rick Gorka, the New Jersey GOP's spokesman. "Democrats have been doing everything they possibly can to distract from their own record when they were in charge."

The coupling of Christie and Palin is indeed odd — while both are rumored to be considering a 2012 presidential run, they appeal to vastly different segments of the GOP base and hail from states that could not be more politically disparate. And while Christie's presidential buzz has been amplified exponentially in recent days and weeks, Palin's seems to be dying out.

But while tying Christie to Palin could be red meat for Democrats who care for neither, it could be an unintended boost for Christie if he does run for president.

"Part and parcel to them painting Christie with the brush of Palin is the wolf in sheep's clothing," Harrison said. "The irony is right now, if in fact he is considering running, the conservatism will help him with the GOP primary constituency," Harrison said.

—This post was updated at 2:52 p.m. with the GOP's response.

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