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Michelle Obama didn’t exactly come out and say what she thinks about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s weight-loss surgery, but she tied his long struggle with his heaviness to her quest for children to adopt healthier lifestyles.

In an NBC News interview that aired Wednesday, Obama was asked to comment on Christie’s surprise revelation that he had gastric banding surgery in February. She said it is a “very personal matter” for the governor and his family, adding she doesn’t “comment on people’s personal choices.”

Obama has been promoting her book, American Grown, which she wrote last year to spotlight the White House kitchen garden and the benefits of eating healthy. She is also behind “Let’s Move,” a campaign to get children to exercise and eat right.

“There are millions of people like the governor who struggle with adulthood obesity and that’s one of the reasons why I think ‘Let’s Move’ is so important,” the first lady said on NBC. “Because we want to start working with kids when they’re young, so that they don’t have these direct challenges when they get older.”

Obama did send good wishes to the Republican, calling him “terrific” and his family “wonderful.”

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his team are at it again with a self-deprecating video mocking his possible presidential ambitions and his fleece jacket.

If you watched the Republican governor on TV after the deadly storm, you’ve seen the now-famous jacket: It’s blue and emblazoned with the words “Chris Christie Governor.” The article of clothing silently screams “leader” or maybe “president” when Christie wears it — at least that’s the schtick in the 7-minute video.

Without his beloved jacket, Christie loses his mojo. Those poll numbers that skyrocketed after the storm? They drop. His pal Bruce Springsteen? Blocks him from going backstage at a concert. The love from MSNBC’s Morning Joe hosts? Gone.

Jon Bon Jovi, James Carville, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski, Alec Baldwin and Hillary Rodham Clinton (her picture, anyway) all make cameo appearances in the video as Christie searches for his magic jacket. “There’s that guy again,” Bon Jovi says. “He ain’t nothing without his fleece.”

Spoiler alert: The Carville-Clinton tidbit at about the 5:50 mark would earn the Democratic strategist some kind of Best Supporting Actor award if such a thing existed.

Christie debuted the video Tuesday night at New Jersey’s annual Legislative Correspondents Club show — the Garden State’s equivalent of Washington’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Tuesday was a busy one for the gov: News that Christie secretly underwent weight-loss surgery was quite the talker.

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Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford said Wednesday he’s moving on and is reading to work with his fellow Republicans who didn’t support his political comeback bid.

“Yesterday is yesterday and today is today, and I look forward to working with them,” Sanford said in an interview on CBS’ This Morning program.

Sanford defeated Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch in a special election for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday night by about 9 percentage points. Colbert Busch, a businesswoman and sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, kept the race competitive despite the Republican tilt of the district.

Sanford was seeking political redemption after an extramarital affair in 2010 ended his marriage and once-promising political career. He won without the financial support of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which elects Republicans to Congress.

It was only toward the end of the race that Sanford was endorsed by top Republicans such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and both of South Carolina’s GOP senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott.

While Sanford did not make mention of the House GOP campaign committee, his former chief of staff could not resist getting in a dig after the race was called. “Sorry, NRCC. We won anyway,” tweeted state Sen. Tom Davis, R-S.C.

In the CBS interview, Sanford said South Carolina’s voters did not make a judgment that character counts less than policy positions. He tied Colbert Busch to unions and liberals such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., even as his personal life once again grabbed headlines.

Character and policy are “equally important,” he said. “I think we have a tradition in the South, in South Carolina, of foregiveness.” Sanford recalled meeting a voter who said to him, “I’m not going to judge you based on your worst day any more than I’ll judge you on your best day. I’m going to look at the totality of your 20 years in politics … and I’m going to make my judgment accordingly.”

Sanford posted a note to his supporters Wednesday on his campaign website offering his “profound thanks” for getting him elected, despite being outspent by Colbert Busch and her Democratic allies.

Sanford’s personal life will be on public view once again Thursday. He is set to appear in Charleston County Family Court to respond to his ex-wife’s complaint that he was trespassing at her home in violation of their divorce agreement. Cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.

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WASHINGTON — Disgraced ex-South Carolina governor Mark Sanford won his bid for redemption on Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch for his old seat in Congress.

Sanford, a Republican who admitted an extramarital affair in 2009, was ready to quit politics for good if he was not victorious in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. He will replace Republican Tim Scott, who was appointed to the Senate.

The former governor — once a rising GOP star considered presidential material — was an early favorite in the Republican district, which Mitt Romney carried by 18 percentage points in the 2012 election. But the revelation that his ex-wife, Jenny, accused Sanford of trespassing at her home caused the National Republican Congressional Committee to withdraw its financial and logistical support in mid-April and gave Colbert Busch an opening.

Sanford must appear in Charleston County Family Court on Thursday on his ex-wife’s complaint.

Colbert Busch, a businesswoman and sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, stayed competitive but a final Public Policy Polling survey two days before the special election showed a dead heat. A business development officer who worked in the shipping industry, Colbert Busch focused on her plans to create jobs and vowed she would be an independent voice for the district.

“The people have spoken and I respect their decision,” she said Tuesday night to supporters, according to NBC News and other news outlets.

This was the first time Sanford was on the ballot since his admission in 2009 that he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail — when he was actually in Argentina visiting his mistress — became a punch line on late-night TV. He had been open throughout the campaign that he believed to a “God of second chances.”

“I absolutely failed. Period,” Sanford said in an interview earlier Tuesday on CNN, one of several he gave on Election Day. He told MSNBC that “one event does not define your life.”

Sanford urged his friends and neighbors to help him spread the word about his ideas to curb the nation’s debt and to send a message about his Democratic rival. He stressed that Colbert Busch received help from labor unions and Democratic groups from outside the district, and tied her to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, chairman of the House GOP campaign committee, congratulated Sanford and made no mention of how the organization parted ways with the candidate. “These results demonstrate just how devastating the policies of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are for House Democrats in 2014,” he said in a statement. “At the end of the day, running on the Obama-Pelosi ticket was just too toxic for Elizabeth Colbert Busch.”

Rep. Steve Israel of New York, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, congratulated Colbert Busch’s efforts and used her as an example of how the party will stay aggressive in the 2014 elections.

Democrats need a net gain of 17 seats next year to win majority control in the House. Sanford’s election does not change that equation.

“The fact that the Democrat made this competitive is a testament to the strength of Elizabeth Colbert Busch as a candidate and the Republican habit of nominating flawed candidates,” Israel said. “Democrats will be aggressive and drive deep into Republican-held territory this cycle to find districts with flawed candidates where we can compete.”

The House Majority PAC, which spent $450,000 on ads and direct mail to boost Colbert Busch, said the outcome in South Carolina reflects poorly on the GOP.

“The House Republican caucus has added yet another ethically challenged embarrassment who will be an albatross around the neck of every Republican forced to answer for Mark Sanford’s embarrassing and reckless behavior,” said Alixandria Lapp, executive director of House Majority PAC.

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie secretly underwent surgery to lose weight at the urging of his family and friends, he told The New York Post.

The Republican, who is running for a second term in November, had lap-band stomach surgery in February. Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor, confirmed the news Tuesday.

“I’ve struggled with this issue for 20 years,” Christie told the newspaper. “For me this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them.”

Christie, the father of four children, turned 50 in September. He said he was not motivated by a potential presidential bid in 2016.

Christie reportedly consulted with the doctor who performed the same surgery in 2010 on New York Jets coach Rex Ryan. In gastric banding surgery, a tube is wrapped around the upper part of the stomach to limit the amount of food it can hold. A person ends up eating less and feels full quicker, according to WebMD. The surgery is sometimes known as the Lap-Band System, one of its brand names.

Christie told the newspaper he recently ate only a third of a steak and felt full. He did not disclose his weight loss, but the New York Post quoted sources who said the governor has lost 40 pounds.

“I know it sounds crazy to say that running for president is minor, but in the grand scheme of things, it was looking at Mary Pat and the kids and going, ‘I have to do this for them, even if I don’t give a crap about myself,’ ” the governor said.

Chrstie’s weight has been a perennial topic and provided much fodder for late-night comedians. Christie has been open about his struggles and last year rejected the idea that he was too fat to be president. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Christie said his performance after Superstorm Sandy — in which he worked long days managing the state’s recovery — showed he could be effective despite his weight.

During an appearance on David Letterman’s show in February, Christie poked fun at himself by eating a doughnut as he talked to the CBS host. But the governor said the next day he had a plan to lose weight and rejected the idea that he did not care about his health. He lashed out at Connie Mariano, the White House doctor in the Clinton administration, who commented in a TV interview that Christie was at risk for a heart attack or stroke.

“Be assured there is a plan — whether it will be successful or not, you will all be able to notice,” Christie said after the Letterman show appearance.

About 220,000 people in 2009 had weight-loss surgery, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Studies show patients who have this surgery may improve their life expectancy and reduce the risk of premature death, the organization’s website says.

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Jason Collins, the NBA player who came out as gay last week, is putting himself out there in the name of Democratic Party politics.

Collins will headline a May 29 fundraiser with first lady Michelle Obama and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz at the party’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Leadership Council gala event.

Collins, a free agent center who played for the Washington Wizards last season, became the first male athlete in one of America’s four major team sports to declare that he is gay. He wrote about coming out in a story for Sports Illustrated, and immediately received well-wishes from President Obama and former president Bill Clinton, among others.

The DNC and Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman, tweeted about the event on Monday. The party’s LGBT Leadership Council aims to elect Democrats and highlight the contributions of gays and lesbians in politics.

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Republican Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch are in a dead heat in their South Carolina race for Congress, as a new poll shows the embattled ex-governor erasing a deficit as voters make their final decision Tuesday.

The poll by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows Sanford leading Colbert Busch by 1 percentage point, or 47% to 46% among likely voters. South Carolina’s 1st District is a GOP stronghold, but Sanford has portrayed himself as a underdog as he fights for redemption after an extramarital affair in 2009 derailed his once-promising political career.

Two weeks ago, Sanford was 9 points behind Colbert Busch, a businesswoman making her first bid for office, in another PPP poll. That survey was taken after it was revealed that Sanford’s ex-wife, Jenny, accused him of trespassing at her home in violation of their divorce agreement. Sanford is due in court on May 9, two days after the special election.

“The special election in South Carolina couldn’t be much closer,” Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said in a statement. “At this point it’s just a question of whether voters are more put off by Mark Sanford or the Democrats in Washington.”

Sanford is running without the support of the House GOP campaign committee, which withdrew from the race after the embarrassing trespassing revelations came out. Sanford has said he was there to watch the Super Bowl with his son.

He and Colbert Busch came out swinging after each other’s character in their one and only debate, and Sanford has made it a point to try and link his opponent — the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert — to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and other liberals.

Colbert Busch has been emphasizing her business credentials and ability to create jobs. The House Majority PAC, dedicated to electing Democrats to Congress, has been running ads in the district targeting female voters that have reminded viewers of Sanford’s affair.

In recent days, Sanford has picked up key support from top Republicans such as South Carolina’s two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott. The special election was sparked by Scott’s appointment to the Senate. Sanford held the House seat from 1995 to 2001 before he was elected governor.

The automated telephone survey of 1,239 voters was taken Saturday and Sunday. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 points.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Nancy Pelosi’s prayers, and the House minority leader is appealing to a higher power about the 2016 presidential race.

“I pray that Hillary Clinton decides to run for president of the United States,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told a Little Rock audience on Thursday, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

“Nobody has been first lady and senator and now secretary of State,” Pelosi said. “Putting everything aside that she is a woman, she’d be the best qualified person.”

There is no shortage of Democrats who are openly pining for Clinton to take another shot at running for the White House, but the former secretary of State and former New York senator has been mum about her political future. EMILY’s List launched its “Madam President” campaign on Thursday, making clear it’s time for a woman in the White House, and the Ready for Hillary super PAC is urging on Clinton.

Pelosi was in Arkansas for an event at the Clinton School of Public Service — named for former president BIll Clinton — when she spoke about what kind of statement it would make if Hillary ran and won.

“Think of the message it sends to women in the world,” she said. “The most powerful figure in the world is a woman, and she also happens to be the most qualified for the job.”

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Now this could be a preview of the 2016 presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chris Christie will be among the featured speakers at an event next month hosted by Bill Clinton.

The former president announced Thursday that the former secretary of State and current New Jersey governor will be among the featured speakers at the Clinton Global Initiative America conference June 13-14 in Chicago. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and Christie, a Republican, are getting a lot of buzz as possible 2016 presidential candidates.

This is the third such conference for CGI America, billed as a “working meeting” aimed at addressing some of the nation’s top economic challenges. Nearly 1,000 leaders from government, business and civic groups are expected to attend the event, which will also feature remarks by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and actress Eva Longoria.

Bill Clinton said this is the first time his wife will be participating in the event, according to the news release announcing the speakers.

It’s not unusual for the former president to host Republican officials at his global forums. Clinton gave a warm introduction last year to GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting, where Romney and President Obama appeared onstage within hours of each other.

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While women have shattered the glass ceiling in many workplaces, the presidency is one job that still says “men only.”

EMILY’s List set out Thursday to change that and launched its “Madam President” campaign aimed at some day soon getting a woman in the Oval Office.

The group, known for its support of Democratic women who support abortion rights, plans to target battleground states such as Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire in the coming months to build a base of voters who are committed to the cause. EMILY’s List will spend six figures on a digital media campaign to back up the Madam President effort.

“It’s time to capitalize on the demand for women’s leadership, harness the energy and ignite a movement that will put a woman in the White House,” Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List, wrote in an op-ed for CNN.

The rollout of the Madam President campaign came on the same day as another public opinion poll showed Hillary Rodham Clinton as the runaway leader among potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidates. Clinton is the choice of 65% of Democratic voters vs. 13% for Vice President Biden in the Quinnipiac University survey.

Clinton ran for president once – and lost the 2008 Democratic nomination to Barack Obama. All polls are a snapshot in time and any survey taken three years ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign is far from predictive.

Clinton, though, said when she endorsed Obama in 2008 that she didn’t want her pioneering campaign to send a discouraging message to young women who have their sights on the White House.

If Clinton doesn’t run, EMILY’s List says there are still many women leaders to choose from. Schriock named Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, former Washington governor Chris Gregoire and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York as part of a “deep bench” of potential candidates.

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