U.S. President Barack Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pick out a teddy bear won during a sideshow arcade game on the boardwalk at Point Pleasant in New Jersey. (Reuters)
President Obama is losing his touch.
The president went 0 for 5 trying to throw a football through a tire at a Jersey Shore arcade game called “TouchDown Fever.”
The game didn’t appear to be fixed, because New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made the shot on his first throw.
Obama teamed up with the Republican governor to tour the progress of the recovery effort since Hurricane Sandy. It was Obama’s first visit to the area since he toured the devastation following the super storm in October.
Back then he walked away with a pre-election campaign boost from Christie’s bushing praise for the federal disaster assistance, which spurred a backlash from conservatives against Christie.
This time, Obama got another gift from Christie — a stuffed bear.
After winning “TouchDown Fever” with his precision football pass, Christie told Obama to “pick out a prize.”
“As much as I’m a Giants fan, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to give him a Giants [bear], so we gave him a Chicago Bears one,” said Mark Malland, 47, who runs the game.
“We know how much he loves his Chicago Bears.”
He said that Christie didn’t gloat about beating the president, and Obama was a “good sport.”
Malland said that even he was swept up in the moment. “I am a Republican,” he said. “But today I am Bi-Partisan.”
Christie didn’t walk away empty handed. He got a prized photo-op with Obama that likely will boost his re-election campaign in solidly Democratic state.
New Jersey voters’ affection for Obama was on display during the visit.
When Obama gave a speech at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, an audience member shouted out: “We love you!”
“I love you back,” responded Obama.
He said that much progress had been made but there is still much more work ahead to fully recover from the $38 billion in hurricane damage.
“You are stronger than the storm,” Obama said, echoing a line Christie uses in a federally-funded TV ad campaign to promote tourism on the Jersey Shore.
“After you’ve all you’ve dealt with, after all you’ve been through, the Jersey Shore is back and it is open for business,” he said.
Obama also heaped praise on Christie for the “the great work he’s done here” in leading the recovery effort.
smiller@nypost.com