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A good show, candidate or no candidate

The national audience was shocked. Had Chris Christie just made fun of a reporter? Had he just temporarily forbidden another from asking a question because the reporter had "screwed around"? Had he just talked for 50 minutes repeating the same reason - with varying degrees of humor - for not running for president?

Gov. Christie announcing he will not run. The nation got a taste of what he serves up for reporters in Trenton almost every week. (Michael Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Gov. Christie announcing he will not run. The nation got a taste of what he serves up for reporters in Trenton almost every week. (Michael Bryant / Staff Photographer)Read more

The national audience was shocked.

Had Chris Christie just made fun of a reporter? Had he just temporarily forbidden another from asking a question because the reporter had "screwed around"? Had he just talked for 50 minutes repeating the same reason - with varying degrees of humor - for not running for president?

And was he wearing the ugliest tie any politician has ever worn on TV?

Yes, yes, yes, and - yes, that's his Big Speech tie. News flash to the news flashers: This is how it always is.

When Gov. Christie announced Tuesday, live on four networks, that he would not run for president in 2012, the nation got a taste of what Christie serves up for the Trenton press corps almost every week.

James Poniewozik, Time magazine TV columnist, tweeted: "BREAKING: Chris Christie announces that he will run for President, as of 2015, when this press conference finally ends."

But Christie wasn't milking this moment more than any other. His news conferences are generally in the 40-minute range, lasting at least five questions after press secretary Michael Drewniak declares: "Two more questions."

And they're generally entertaining. As Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times tweeted: "Mitch Daniels makes his announcement in a printed statement to Indy [Indianapolis] Star, while Chris Christie holds a press conference fit for Broadway."

Christie news conferences aren't always fun for everyone, especially if you're a Democratic legislator ("jerk") or an out-of-favor journalist ("Get a life, would ya?"). If he doesn't like a question, he says so, and he periodically seems to ignore certain reporters' waving hands.

At a news conference leading up to Hurricane Irene, I asked a question as he was leaving the lectern. He said I was "slow on the uptake"; when I cleared my throat to reply, he asked if I needed some water.

The governor then threw his bottle of water toward me, forcing several members of his cabinet in the row in front of me to duck. (I caught the bottle one-handed, thank you very much, and got to ask my question.)

These are the rules: No questions when he's left the lectern, or is hustling somewhere with his security detail. No follow-ups without asking permission.

"You're new here, you don't know the rules," he said to one reporter Tuesday who tried a follow-up.

Obnoxious or hilarious, depending on your vantage point. But different from other politicians, for sure, which is why Tuesday made for such captivating live TV.

"Leave it to @GovChristie," tweeted blogger John Brodigan, "to give a press conference saying he's not running that reminds people why they wanted him to run."

Erik Wemple of the Washington Post noted that Christie must read his clippings because he calls reporters by name, and he suggested the governor has a future as White House press secretary.

If he ever does get to the White House, his style probably won't change. He is the same on the big or small stage.

I was one of just two reporters at an untelevised news conference at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees earlier this year. I asked, half-jokingly, if I could attend a dinner he was hosting at the governor's mansion with several rich Iowans trying to persuade him to run for president.

"You're not from Iowa, you cannot come, and the only non-Iowans there will be real friends of mine - not people I spend a lot of time with, like you," he said, prompting laughs from the assembled medical staff.

On Tuesday, Christie brought up my name when asked if he had any regrets about not running. He noted that the Christie-for-president hype had turned several of us into momentary cable-TV talking heads.

"I mean, who's going to have Katz on TV now that I'm out of this race? Nobody . . .. He won't be able to get on News 12, for godsakes. That's about the only regret I have."

He teasingly scolded Lisa Fleisher of the Wall Street Journal for asking a tough question - "she's getting very, very good." He said he wouldn't answer the question (and then he answered it).

When Bergen Record columnist Charles Stile, who regularly criticizes the governor, asked if he was worried about losing reelection in 2013, Christie retorted: "It's so great that Charlie is so worried about me. You couldn't tell from reading his columns."

The humor worked. This time, as reporters laughed, he left the question unanswered and moved on.