Former New Jersey Gov. and GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie recently visited war-torn Ukraine. And to show solidarity with Ukrainians in their war against Russia, he presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with lyrics to Bon Jovi’s song “It’s My Life.” Christie’s publicity stunt — for that is what it was — may have something to do with GOP primary polls that put him dead last among would-be challengers to former President Donald Trump. In any event, Christie’s use of Bon Jovi’s lyrics as a substitute for geopolitical seriousness is reminiscent of then–Secretary of State John Kerry responding to terror attacks in France by having singer-songwriter James Taylor perform “You’ve Got a Friend.” 

Christie followed up his publicity stunt by appearing on CNN and claiming that Bon Jovi’s song “served as an inspiration for a lot of citizens in Odessa, as they were preparing for the invasion by the Russians.” Christie bragged that Bon Jovi “wrote it out in his own hand, got it framed, and I brought it to President Zelensky … and said that this is representative of many of the American people and what they feel about the cause that’s being fought for in Ukraine.”

The song is about living one’s life to the fullest (“I just want to live while I’m alive”) because no one lives forever (“It’s now or never / I ain’t gonna live forever”), with a reference to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” (“Like Frankie said: I did it my way”). Presumably, the lyrics Christie is referring to include: “This is for the ones who stood their ground”; “Tomorrow’s getting harder, make no mistake”; “Got to make your own breaks”; “Better stand tall when they’re calling you out”; “Don’t bend, don’t break, baby don’t back down.” Not exactly Churchillian rhetoric — but who needs Churchill when you got Bon Jovi?

This is more than symbolism over substance. It reflects an unseriousness among at least some of our would-be leaders. But it does get headlines — and what a candidate who is at 2 percent compared to Trump’s 54 percent needs, I guess, is headlines.

Christie, who toured the villages of Bucha and Moshchun with Zelensky, said:

I feel the cruelty, and you feel the inhumanity. And you look at this, and I don’t think there’s anyone in our country who would come here and see this and not feel as if these are the things that America needs to stand up and prevent.

Christie criticized the Biden administration for not doing enough to help Ukraine. “America needs to stand up to prevent and to work with friends like the Ukrainians,” he remarked, “to give them the means necessary for them to be able to secure once again their liberty and their freedom.”  

Geopolitics should not be based on “feelings” or the personal satisfaction one feels for combating “cruelty” or “inhumanity.” The “need” to prevent cruelty is not a vital national interest of the United States — and it never has been. And urging Ukrainians — via Bon Jovi’s lyrics — not to “back down” and not to “bend” or “break” sounds inspirational, but the war grinds on with little hope of victory for either side, and Ukrainians continue to suffer.

Christie did not propose a specific aid plan or concrete proposals for ending the war on terms favorable to Ukraine. But one senses that wasn’t the purpose of his trip to Ukraine — his purpose was to make headlines, and in that he succeeded. Whether that will translate into an increase in his poll numbers is doubtful.