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Wednesday, Jun 1, 2011 3:52 PM UTC

Dems gleeful over Christie helicopter ride to baseball game

Democrats are gleefully distributing story of the New Jersey governor's surprise flight to a high school ball field

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Topics: Chris Christie, War Room,

Dems gleeful over Christie helicopter ride to baseball gameFILE - In this May 24, 2011 file photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks in Trenton, N.J. Sarah Palin draws crowds with her hide-and-seek bus tour. Michele Bachmann says Palin’s plans won’t dissuade her from what appears to be a likely presidential bid. Iowa GOP activists travel to New Jersey to implore Gov. Chris Christie to run. Texas Gov. Rick Perry weighs a campaign. The Republican presidential field is far less settled than it seemed just a week ago. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)(Credit: AP)

National Democrats are gleefully distributing this story about Gov. Chris Christie arriving at his son’s high school baseball game in a state police helicopter.

The incident — which, the Star-Ledger points out, involves a helicopter that cost taxpayers $12.5 million — occurred on the same day a group of Iowa Republicans came to New Jersey to visit Christie and try to persuade him to run for president. The paper reports:

Right before the lineup cards were being exchanged on the field, a noise from above distracted the spectators as the 55-foot long helicopter buzzed over trees in left field, circled the outfield and landed in an adjacent football field.

And to top it off:

Christie disembarked from the helicopter and got into a black car with tinted windows that drove him about a 100 yards to the baseball field.

The exact time line of where Christie was hurrying from — whether it was that meeting with the Iowans — is not clear. His office has defended the use of the helicopter “as the schedule demands.” But all of this seems particularly tone-deaf for a politician who has made fiscal responsibility and budget cutting his signature issues.

Here are some still shots of the scene at the school:

Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin More Justin Elliott.

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