Christie kicks off Labor Day at the Jersey Shore

POINT PLEASANT, N.J. - Gov. Christie started the Labor Day weekend Friday with a visit to the Jersey Shore, where he greeted beachgoers, posed for photos, and criticized President Obama's handling of foreign policy.

The governor spent the morning strolling the boardwalk in Seaside Heights and chatting with fans in Point Pleasant Beach, where he touted progress the state has made since Hurricane Sandy.

The potential 2016 presidential contender also weighed in on foreign policy, criticizing Obama's handling of militants in the Middle East.

Asked about the president's statement that he did not yet have a strategy for dealing with the violent militant group seeking to establish an Islamic state in the Middle East, Christie responded, "That's not a revelation, is it?"

"It's scary to hear the president say that, but I don't think that we needed the president to announce that," he said. "I think we see what's happening there, that he doesn't have a strategy. And that's really unfortunate for a president in his sixth year, to not have a strategy there."

But Christie slapped down questions about what he thinks should be done, saying he wouldn't discuss foreign policy while standing on a boardwalk.

Christie also declined to weigh in on speculation that 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney might decide to run again.

"I'm not going to talk about that stuff," said Christie. "I don't want anybody telling me what I should do or not do, and I'm certainly not going to tell Mitt what he should or shouldn't do."

Christie has made a tradition of visiting the Shore to encourage tourism.

AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts that more than one million New Jerseyans plan to travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, up 1 percent from last year.