Apparently, the governor feels the cover is “not kind,” and that it made him look like Tony Soprano, the fictional mob boss on HBO.

According to news reports, an advocacy group for Italian-Americans is not amused. Spokesperson Andre Dimino claimed that the cover is like a mug shot and is “just a typical smearing of Italian-Americans.” The governor’s mother was a Sicilian-American.

“I’m reporting Time magazine to be [like an] anti-Italian defamation league,” Christie is reported to have said on the popular radio and tv show “Imus in the Morning.”

Governor Christie, once considered by many Republicans as a legitimate alternative to Mitt Romney as the party's best chance to defeat President Obama, has emerged as a controversial figure who some believe handed Obama the victory, when he praised the president's performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Since then, he has also generated controversy by slamming the Speaker of the House. And, his close relationship with Bruce Springsteen (The Boss), who is a poster boy and big-time fundraiser for the Democrats, is also the subject of much twittering amongst political animals.

Interestingly, new polling data shows that the governor’s favourable ratings in recent polls is higher (52%) among Democrats than it is with Republicans (48%), according to Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling. 

Some conspiracy theorisists even believe that Time magazine (thought by many to be a left-leaning news weekly) is trying to smear Christie as being fat and dangerous, because he is a right-wing politician that poses a real threat to the established order, precisely because he is liked equally by both Democrats and Republicans.