"I love this job, and I have no interest in heading off to Washington, D.C."
- New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie (R), speaking to reporters last week, about not being chosen as Mitt Romney's running mate
The New York Post is reporting, today, that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pulled himself out of the running for Mitt Romney's number two because he would have had to resign his office for a White House run he was pretty sure was a losing bid. "Christie adamantly refused to sacrifice his post, believing that being Romney’s running mate wasn’t worth the gamble," the
Post story says.
According to the Post's sources, the article says:
"The tough-talking governor believed Romney severely damaged his campaign by releasing only limited tax returns and committing several gaffes during his international tour in July.
Certain Romney was doomed, Christie stuck to his guns — even as some of his own aides pushed him to run."
Apparently, because the State of New Jersey does business with giant Wall Street banks, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, Christie would be forced to leave office so the purse strings of individuals associated with those banks could be loosened beyond a meager $250, Security and Exchange Commission limit on "personal contributions... to a governor running for federal office."
That laid the decision to be a running mate right at Christie's doorstep. Given the choice between resigning for a long shot bet or staying in office, and biding his time for a more predictable outcome, the Garden State governor decided to hold his ground. The choice, a source close to the Romney campaign told the Post, "had nothing to do with Chris’ personality and everything to do with money."
- PBG