May 2011 Update: Governor Christie’s name manages to remain in consideration for president in 2012 even though he has said he is not running. Iowa Republicans, reportedly unsatisfied with the current field of candidates, will travel toNew Jersey at the end of the month to pitch a presidential run to Christie. I think the governor may want to run, but is creating a scenario by which he is drafted to run and can swoop in as the party’s “savior.” If this happens, Christie would be the first major party candidate drafted to run since Eisenhower.
March 2011 Update: No change. Christie has not changed his assertion that he will not run in 2012.
I don’t know as much about Chris Christie as other contenders, but I like him. He’s a straight-talking guy who tells it like it is even when there are tough things to say. He has been given the nickname “wrecking ball” in reference to both his size and his penchant for knocking programs down that he sees as a detriment to his state. He’s taken on unions and Democratic legislators in New Jersey and proposed deep cuts in order to balance the state’s budget. While all New Jerseyans don’t agree with all of Christie’s programs and proposals, they can respect him for telling them how it is and then trying to get someting done.
Winning in fall of 2009, Governor Christie was one of the forerunners to the Republican wave of 2010 (Gov. Bob McDonnell of VA and Sen. Scott Brown of MA were the others). The previous paragraph describes what would be Christie’s strengths in both a Republican primary and a general election, though he has repeatedly said that he will not run in 2012. Things can change; after all, then-Senator Obama said that he would not run for president in ’08 even as people around the country asked him about it as early as 2005 (right after he was first elected to the Senate). Obama changed his mind after being convinced that 2008 was his time. Christie may have the right message for the right moment, and in politics, timing is everything. Besides, he wouldn’t be the first New Jersey governor to go on to the presidency after only 2 years in elected office. Woodrow Wilson began his first term as president after serving as New Jersey’s governor from 1911-1913.
DISCOURSE: AMERICA 