Staged Fright

Is anyone surprised here?

As he promotes his plan for property tax reform in town hall meetings, Gov. Chris Christie has stressed his willingness to engage in debate.

"These aren’t staged, as you can see, and the questions aren’t pre-selected, as you can see," he told one audience. "This governor’s not afraid to answer any question about what we’re doing as a government on your behalf."

But planning documents obtained byThe Star-Ledger and interviews with participants show subtle efforts to build a friendly audience.

He's screwing 140,000 teachers and response at his meetings range from adoring to idolizing. Of course he's fixing the crowds - a media addict like Christie knows he has to stage everything.

Of course, he's still not quite Bush-league:

Christie’s events are not as controlled as those held by former President George W. Bush, whose carefully staged "conversations on Social Security" drew a raft of criticism, or former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose staff admitted to planting questions at town halls.

Hey, he's been in office less than half a year - give the man some time. After all: