Stumping in Iowa, Christie stays on the attack

FORT DODGE, Iowa - Gov. Christie kept up his attacks against President Obama on Saturday in Iowa, voicing skepticism over the terms of the prisoner swap announced with Iran.

"What I'm concerned about is, What did he trade?" he said at a town-hall meeting at Olde Boston's Restaurant & Pub here, saying Iran had "not a lick of respect for" Obama.

Iran announced Saturday it had released four imprisoned Americans as part of a prisoner exchange that involved the U.S. releasing seven Iranians held on sanctions violations, according to the New York Times. Obama administration officials credited a "climate of diplomacy" cultivated through nuclear negotiations with Iran, the Times reported.

Christie called it a "disgrace" that "we'd have to trade anything to the Iranians to get our people home." The United States, he said, "needs to stop allowing ourselves to be walked on by the mullahs in Iran."

Christie also continued to draw contrasts between himself and some of his rivals, casting his experience as a former U.S. attorney and governor as superior to that of a U.S. senator's.

Obama had "never managed anything bigger than a 30-person Senate staff," Christie said in Ames. "Let's not make the same mistake again."

Later, in Fort Dodge, he described the prospect of electing another first-term senator as the "definition of insanity."

Christie didn't name Florida Sen. Marco Rubio or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz there, but he singled them out on other occasions.

While Christie has seen an uptick in his New Hampshire poll numbers, he has been stuck in single digits in Iowa. A poll last week put his support at 3 percent.

On Saturday - 16 days before the Feb. 1 caucuses - he described himself as on the upswing. Asked in Ames how he'd pick a vice president, he joked that he liked the question, "given that three months ago I was, like, at 2 percent in Iowa."

He cast attacks by rivals as a mark of momentum, telling voters they would hear "a lot about me" in the coming weeks, "especially now that I'm doing well.

Christie didn't bring up Thursday's debate exchange with Rubio, who accused him of having endorsed positions shared by Obama - "whether it is Common Core, or gun control, or the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor, or the donation he made to Planned Parenthood."

He denied backing Sotomayor; while he issued a statement supporting her confirmation in 2009, he says he meant she "deserved an up-or-down vote." He also denies giving to Planned Parenthood - saying he was misquoted in 1994 by the Star-Ledger, which quoted him as saying "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution." (The reporter who wrote the story is now a Christie spokesman.)

As he did during the debate, Christie on Saturday stressed conservative positions on guns. To a mother in Ames who said she was "terrified" of gun violence, Christie said he didn't support universal background checks, citing "family members who sell to other family members, or friends."

We "already have an extensive system of background checks," he said.

Asked Friday in an interview with the Des Moines Register's editorial board why he faces accusations of flip-flopping, Christie questioned the conclusions of news outlets "fact-checking" his statements.

"Fact-checking is subjective," he said.

Opponents continued Saturday to try to associate Christie with about-faces. In Ames, two people in panda suits held a "Pander Bears for Christie" sign and handed out fliers. They said they were students unaffiliated with any group.

Some voters were also curious about Christie's statements. As he greeted voters in Urbandale, a 26-year-old named Eric asked about Sotomayor.

Eric, who declined to give his last name, said it didn't bother him if Christie had supported Sotomayor, but "I think he should just be honest and explain why."

Mary Beth Goeser, 48, a nurse from Norwalk, didn't know what to make of the sparring between Rubio and Christie. "I kind of wondered after the fact if what Christie said was true," she said. But she had "more of a negative impression of Rubio, if it wasn't true."

Still, the exchange hadn't soured Goeser on Christie. She told Christie she'd "got it down" to him and Cruz.

Christie "pushed me a little bit" by arguing that he has experience Cruz doesn't, she said. But "I'm not sure I'm convinced."

mhanna@phillynews.com

@maddiehanna