Is America ready for Christie? Or is that the wrong question?
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie feels heat on his heels ...
Newark Mayor Cory Booker is on record as seriously considering running for either governor or the United States Senate:
Speaking before a gathering of about 200 at a Fair Lawn Democratic County Committee event at the Fair Lawn Community Center, Booker said, "I'll tell you this, I'm strongly considering the options at the end of my term," the report said.
The U.S. Senate seat held by Frank Lautenberg is next up for grabs in 2014. The general election for governor is in November 2013.
Christie is in chess piece mode, floating options to the media and hoping ...
In this NJ.com video from yesterday, Christie discusses running for reelection as governor. But he says said that if there was a clear opportunity, he would run for President in 2016.
Now rewind to January 2011:
Gov. Chris Christie told Oprah Winfrey ... that a lot depends on whether he’ll run for president in 2016, but one thing’s for sure: “In terms of me, I’ll be much more ready four years from now,” he said. Christie, who called politics a “contact sport,” said there’s no doubt he’s attracted to holding positions of power, but has so far foregone the ultimate test for a simple reason.
“There’s nothing more unattractive than getting there and feeling like you’re not ready,” he said, adding that he’s never felt over his head as governor.
Winfrey, who endorsed President Obama in 2008, asked Christie about the odds the Democrat will win another four years. “He is as good a politician as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I think where the shortcoming has been is in governing.” On GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, Christie conceded “he doesn’t really communicate it all that well,” but called him the most qualified candidate for the job.
And he keeps himself prevalent on the presidential campaign stage. On May 22, Christie
helped Mitt Romney add five million dollars to campaign coffers, through a New York City fundraiser.
However, will the Christie slapstick have worn off by that time? Here's a fun experiment: try googling the words "Christie Idiot." Here is a link, for convenience.
How will such behavior, past, present and future, play on a national and international stage? As is evidenced, Christie enjoys acting like Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino from Jersey Shore. Is the Rocky Balboa, loose-cannon theme going to fly with the Republican Bible-belt voting base?
And then there is the issue of mindset. As the article linked above (about Mike "The Situation") states: "Here’s the situation. The man may be intellectually limited, but he’s not stupid." The same thing can, of course, be said about Christie.
Will he run from the middle, where many of his policies currently stand, or from the right? Is the Macho Guv the type of true strategic master that a presidency requires? Can we use the words "Chris Christie" and "nuanced" in the same sentence?
Finally, doesn't Christie saying he plans run for President in 2016 mean that he expects Romney to LOSE THIS YEAR?