For the NJ gov, it wasn't his time
Back to town halls in Piscataway and Parsippany; forget about national debates on prime time. Back to defending criticism from the likes of Loretta Weinberg, senator from Bergen County; forget about high profile attacks from the leader of the free world. Gov. Christie's star fell back to earth Saturday after nearly a year of speculation about whether he would be in national office as early as January.
For the NJ gov, it wasn't his time
Matt Katz, Inquirer Staff Writer
Back to town halls in Piscataway and Parsippany; forget about national debates on prime time. Back to defending criticism from the likes of Loretta Weinberg, senator from Bergen County; forget about high profile attacks from the leader of the free world.
Gov. Christie’s star fell back to earth Saturday after nearly a year of speculation about whether he would be in national office as early as January.
Last fall, Henry Kissinger, the iconic former secretary of state, told him he should be president, while Nancy Reagan escorted him onto the stage for a major speech that prognosticators thought was an audition for his candidacy.
When he finally told America he wasn’t running, at least not yet, what followed for months on end was questions, ad infinitum, about whether he was going to run for vice president.
Now that is over. The first-term New Jersey governor and GOP hot shot will likely get a concession prize, keynote speaker at the Republican convention in 2 ½ weeks, as the vice presidential candidacy goes to Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.).
Christie got farther than any fancy political expert could have imagined. In the end, he cracked the top five of GOP vice-presidential finalists, which isn’t bad for a first-term governor from the 11th biggest state who went from unelected obscurity to one of the most in-demand Republicans in the country during the Obama years.
Christie was considered a viable No. 2 to Romney because of his immense popularity among Republicans around the country and in blue New Jersey. He has a resume that includes winning terrorism prosecutions as U.S. Attorney and signing fiscally-conservative laws as governor. He doesn’t sound like a politician, nor does he look like a politician. And he is strong where Romney is weak: On his feet dealing with the media, for example, and attacking opponents in a sharp but often funny way.
But Christie’s uniqueness also may have gotten in the way. Blame Sarah Palin.
The memory of Sen. John McCain’s “game-changing” running mate loomed large in this selection process. Picking another “bold” governor with only a couple of years in office would have reminded voters of Palin, skeptics said.
Palin and Christie are not politically similar. They don’t seem to particularly like each other. But they are both prone to being distractions.
The fact that Christie showed up on the front page of the TMZ.com gossip site last month, right in the middle of the veepstakes, probably didn’t help. Video obtained by the web site made it look as if Christie was going to attack a heckler on the Jersey Shore.
It wasn’t an isolated incident. Last month Christie called a reporter “stupid,” which came months after he called a Navy SEAL an “idiot.” Would button-downed Romney want to worry about say-anything Christie? While the Christie shtick still plays extraordinarily well in New Jersey, polls show, it may be too Jersey for Ohio or Tennessee.
Also of possible concern: Christie’s weight, and whether that might signal to voters that he is too unhealthy to take over the presidency. While online trolls have trashed Christie for his excessive weight, he also has been taken to task by newspaper columnists and TV pundits.
More substantive issues may have been at play, too.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average, which would have complicated any Christie attacks on Obama for the nation's unemployment.
In June, a three-part, front-page series in The New York Times connected Christie to a private company that runs troubled halfway houses in the state. It was unwelcome attention for a vice presidential hopeful.
Also in June, a potential major legislative victory -- a tax cut deal for overtaxed New Jerseyans -- slipped through Christie’s fingers.
Formerly pro-choice, with published comments about guns and Muslims that troubled elements of the Republican base, Christie may have not passed the conservative sniff test, either.
The governor is still one of the Republican party’s most dynamic stars. He is likely to shine in Tampa at the convention. And as Christie continues to campaign and raise money for Romney, he will build his Rolodex for his own future presidential run -- in 2016 if Romney loses, or thereafter.
He’s only 49 years old, remember. After the election he’ll announce whether he’s running for re-election in New Jersey next year.
And if not, he may have other options. A President Romney will need an Attorney General.
But in the mean time, the governor will go back to being the governor. This heady phase of Christie’s political career -- the Jersey guy who made a big, sudden splash in the pool of presidential politics -- is over.
For now.
"Two weeks ago I was definitely going to be the keynote speaker. Now this morning I'm going to be the vice president," Christie said earlier this week. "Tomorrow I may be nothing. Who knows?"
- Are you talking about Ann Romney?
Ha ha ha, terrorist jokes are so funny. Especially because Obama killed Osama. I get it.
— PhillySteel36 - Christie, for all his faults, is wise enough not to chain himself to a sure loser in November. Paul Ryan is currently dating Bristol Palin.— orange rhino
- Christie has been good for NJ and really the Tri-State area with his honest fiscal and cultural views. He will be good campaigning with the Romney-Ryan team and see if honest factual instead of Reid like lies that BHO-Joe love to dispense while notably never defending their indefensible record domestically or internationally.Oh wait, we got OBL. Dems hate facts, especially eco. fiscal, debt, deficit and free enterprise facts and have shown it over 3.8 yrs. with massive socialist baloney to their BASE which is now made up of takers and non-producers. Christie, Mitt and Ryan will appeal to the makers and producers and grown ups. We shall see if Pa. and NJ are just tired of taxes, spending, regs and joblessness or will be scammed again by the worse Prez in my 73 yrs.— Koons
- We love facts. We love history too, something republicans should look into. — PhillySteel36
- Yeah, right! It's just traditions of individualism, morality and character, as well as "In God We Trust," which served as the foundation of our growing country which progressive, atheist trolls hate.— lefty
- Actually the "founders" never used that phrase. They were those separation of state guys. It actually originated during the war of 1812 and was only added to money about 100 years after the founding of the country. — PhillySteel36
- ricciaje, If things go south for republicans this November, your wish will be fulfilled 4 years from now when he tickets up with Rubio. Together, they will beat any domocrat by the largest margin ever recorded.— lefty
- PhillySteel, Yeah 1812....shortly before our nascent nation's industrialization would take root, as in Elija Root, only to be followed by Carnegie, Ford, Olds and a slew of industrialists, you know, the 1/100 of the so-called "one percenters" progressives regularly attack.— lefty
- And they paid an income tax rate of 75%. 95% in the fifties. There are many people who built this country. Some of them worked for the Carnegees and Ford and the other guys. American is the greatest country because we all did our part. — PhillySteel36
Reach him at mkatz@phillynews.com or 609-217-8355.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattkatz00. Reach Matt at mkatz@phillynews.com or 609-217-8355.
