It is rather amusing that NY Governor Paterson, and NJ Governor Chris Christie are wrangling over who should accept the resposibility for "Jersey Shore".

Right on cue, Snooki was arrested (tastefully wearing a T-shirt that said "slut"), and was reported to have screamed, between obscenities, "Do you know who I am? I'm Snooki. You can't do this to me." As if she was someone important, so exalted that she was above the law. ROFLOL 

Time was when New York and New Jersey wrangled over things that mattered. 

Like Ellis Island, the former immigrant gateway to America. New York used to have it. New Jersey claimed it. The two states fought in the courts for sovereignty, and the west bank of the Hudson River won. Decades of history and nostalgia " New York?s long suit in that battle" carried little weight with the United States Supreme Court when it ruled a dozen years ago that 90 percent of the island was New Jersey territory. 

Or take the issue of spending by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New York long believed that its airports got the fuzzy end of the lollipop. For years, Newark Liberty International Airport was spiffed up, while dowdy Kennedy International Airport looked more and more as if it were run by a team of engineers out of Bucharest during the worst of Nicolae Ceausescu. 

What do we have now? 

We have the governors of New Jersey and New York throwing spitballs over who should be blamed for "Jersey Shore"  the MTV show that validates the Mencken maxim that no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. It is about a group of young Italian-Americans, self-described "Guidos" and "Guidettes", who enjoy the beach, a preference for the outdoors that spares their knuckles carpet burns. Italian-American groups, not surprisingly, admire the show about as much as the N.A.A.C.P. loved "Amos ?n? Andy." 

A few days ago, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was asked what he thought of "Jersey Shore".  Not much, he replied. Mr. Christie came close to blaming New York for promulgating a negative stereotype of New Jersey, as if his state were shortchanged in that department. 

?What it does", he said, "is it takes a bunch of New Yorkers" most of the people on ?Jersey Shore? are New Yorkers "drops them at the Jersey Shore and tries to make America feel like this is New Jersey." 

On the east bank, Gov. David A. Paterson refused to let the swipe go unanswered. "Well", he said of the "Jersey Shore' cast, "maybe they are better when they?re in New York than they?re in New Jersey." 

Nyah-nyah. My louts are better than your louts. 

In this epic battle, Mr. Paterson gained the upper hand over the weekend when a "Jersey Shore" star, Nicole Polizzi, was arrested in Seaside Heights, N.J., accused of behaving like a drunken boor in public. Ms. Polizzi goes by the nickname Snooki. She has skin coloring that suggests her tanning machine is set to whatever position is higher than George Hamilton. If you haven?t heard of her, you are in good company. President Obama said on "The View" the other day that he didn?t know who she was, either. 

As she was arrested (tastefully wearing a T-shirt that said "slut"), Ms. Polizzi was reported to have screamed, between obscenities, "Do you know who I am? I?m Snooki. You can?t do this to me." Those words always endear someone to others. 

Definitely, in this cross-river match, the point went to the gentleman from New York.... 

Still, a question lingers about what to do with Snooki and her friends. The feeling here, for what it?s worth, is that New York should take Mr. Christie?s words to heart and accept responsibility for "Jersey Shore" - but on the condition that it gets Ellis Island back. If Paris was well worth a Mass to Henry IV, surely Ellis Island is worth a dopey television show. 
 

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