Image: Pete Blackburn

Earlier today on this very website, my colleague Sam Biddle referred to a recent photograph of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pouring a bag of M&Ms into a box of M&Ms as “embarrassing” and inexplicable—an analysis as unfair as it is incorrect. Because in this instance, for what may be the very first time in his life, Chris Christie did the right thing.

As Christie explained in this morning’s radio interview, “You get the box, you open the box, there’s a bag inside the box.” The veteran snack gourmand did not purchase two separate containers of M&M’s chocolate candies, as was widely assumed. In fact, M&M’s are often sold with the excessive packaging seen both above and in the tweet below.

Surely, one does not need two M&M’s containers, so when faced with the choice, one must choose the best vessel for the situation. Chris Christie was at a basketball game; this means lots of excitement, lots of movement, and lots of potential for scattered treats. M&M’s bags are anything but sturdy. A cardboard box, on the other hand, is far more likely to stand up to rowdy, sportsmanlike jostling.

Does it take a little extra effort and care to pour the contents of the bag into the box? Sure. But is it worth it? Absolutely.

For once, Chris Christie is not the monster in this situation. A man should not be judged for choosing what is clearly the superior of two options. Mars, Incorporated, however, should be rebuked for its excessive use of packaging and—more importantly—its silence. For the shame some, including Biddle, have foisted upon Christie is in fact the company’s own.

And Chris Christie, you are an awful man for many reasons. Your candy strategy is not one of them.