Christie endorses Romney

LEBANON, N.H. - One week after saying he would not seek the Republican presidential nomination himself, Gov. Christie on Tuesday delivered his coveted endorsement to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"America cannot survive another four years of Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney is the man we need to lead America, and we need him now," Christie said at a joint news conference just hours before another GOP debate.

The coveted "get" was sure to help Romney's strategy of consolidating support among the GOP establishment, which values electability. His advisers also say the move will strengthen his appeal to rank-and-file Republicans and independents who like Christie's brand of tough-talking conservative populism.

Christie referenced Romney's experience both in the private sector and as an executive in the political world, saying he is a stark contrast to Obama, who is "trying to divide an ever-shrinking pie among the American people."

"We have seen what it's like electing a legislator without executive experience to the White House," Christie said later in a conference call with reporters.

Christie flew to New Hampshire on Tuesday courtesy of the Romney campaign, according to the New Jersey Republican Party.

The Romney campaign staged the endorsement event in a small room at a hotel packed with supporters and reporters, about five miles from Dartmouth College in Hanover, where the debate was held.

Romney described Christie as a hero who has been forthright in stopping the "excesses" of government in New Jersey.

Christie said he informed Romney of his decision by phone last week, and then invited Romney to his home in Mendham, N.J., on Saturday to discuss it further. They were joined by their wives, Anne Romney and Mary Pat Christie.

Christie said he would do whatever Romney needed during the campaign, such as traveling to primary states, but only if it didn't interfere with his duties in New Jersey.

Russ Schriefer, Romney's media strategist, who worked on Christie's 2009 campaign, said Christie was "going to be a sort of a surrogate without portfolio."

He will "be involved in all parts of the campaign, talking to the press, campaigning as a surrogate for Gov. Romney in a number of states but also as an adviser, a sounding board," Schriefer said.

With the endorsement, Romney gets the hottest name of the moment in national politics to act as a mouthpiece for him in primary states and on national TV. And Christie's reputation as a personable, blunt, truth-teller may help to counter Romney's perceived reputation as a straitlaced flip-flopper.

After Christie officially said he would not run last week, Romney was considered the obvious pick were he to endorse someone. They're both northeastern Republicans considered to be moderates who focus on fiscal rather than social issues.

In 2009, Romney went to Haddonfield to endorse Christie for governor, and he returned to New Jersey in January to meet with Christie at the governor's mansion. Romney later donated to the New Jersey Republican Party, and Christie said they have had several phone conversations over the past year.

The men have political backers in common, too, including fund-raisers who switched to Romney after Christie said he would not run and Christie's closest friend in the legislature, State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R., Monmouth), who led the Romney presidential campaign in New Jersey in 2008.

At the news conference, Christie took an immediate swing at Romney's chief GOP rival, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, when answering a question about Perry's association with a pastor who called Mormonism a "cult."

Romney is Mormon, and Christie said "any campaign that associates itself with that type of comment is beneath the office of president of the United States." He compared it to the furor that greeted his appointment of a Muslim judge this year.

The Perry campaign released this statement about Christie's endorsement of Romney:

"Gov. Perry has the utmost respect for Gov. Christie and looks forward to his help unseating President Obama next year. Until then, Gov. Perry will continue traveling the country talking about job creation and getting America working again."

Christie flirted with a presidential run and delivered a major speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, but at a highly publicized news conference last week, he said he would stay out.

The Christie endorsement immediately prompted speculation about what it means for Christie's own political future, whether as Romney's running mate or as the attorney general in a Romney administration.

On the vice president question, Christie said on the call with reporters: "I have no expectation, as I've said many times before, that the vice presidency will be offered to me."

Asked a second time, he reiterated that the question was an irrelevant one, but he did not say he wouldn't serve.