Christie Basks in Media Love Like McCain Before Him

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie is having his John McCain moment in the media.

It’s hard to forget how eagerly the press and entertainment outlets like “Saturday Night Live” cozied up to Sen. McCain not too long ago. He was a maverick, a war hero who repeatedly butted heads with the GOP establishment. For that, the Arizona Senator received favorable coverage, an invitation to appear on “SNL” and generally more positive press than most of this peers.

Then McCain dared to make a run for the White House. And the media love fest screeched to a halt. Press coverage turned nasty. Late night comics embraced every old age joke their hack writers could crank out.

Christie clearly didn’t learn the lesson of McCain’s inevitable media downfall.

The N.J. Governor is the media darling of the moment, the man who cozied up to President Barack Obama in the days before election to help with Hurricane Sandy relief. The pugnacious pol is getting raves for his bipartisan approach, the press realizing just how much he helped Obama in a critical juncture in the election cycle.

Christie’s appearance on “SNL” over the weekend only affirmed the big, warm media hug. Here’s betting all those fat jokes aimed at him will go away.

It won’t last, of course.

Should Christie embrace conservative policies anew, the current love fest will fade like one of those “Hope” posters from President Obama’s 2008 campaign. And, if Christie truly has designs on a 2016 presidential run, he can expect the same kind of one-sided treatment from his new pals at “Saturday Night Live.”

Just ask McCain. Or, better yet, Sarah Palin.