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Christie, still undecided on run, swipes at opponents

Although he is giving every sign of running for president, Gov. Christie says he still has not decided whether he will throw his hat in the ring.

Although he is giving every sign of running for president, Gov. Christie says he still has not decided whether he will throw his hat in the ring.

"We're still going through the really personal part of this decision," the potential Republican contender said in an interview with Matt Lauer broadcast Thursday on the NBC Today show. "You don't rush that decision."

"I've got a day job to do, which is really important," Christie also said in the interview, recorded over milkshakes in a diner in New Hampshire, where the governor spent two days this week testing the presidential waters.

Lauer noted he had known Christie for a long time and said that looking into his eyes "there isn't one way you can convince me that you haven't already made the decision - it's just a question of you not announcing the decision."

"Well then, why should I even try to convince you, Matt?" Christie said. ". . . It's the absolute truth that Mary Pat and I have not made the decision yet."

Of the drops in his poll numbers after the scandal over the George Washington Bridge lane closures, Christie pointed to "incredible" press coverage. Federal prosecutors are still investigating the incident.

Christie also swiped at former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush when Lauer asked if Bush would be his biggest rival in the 2016 race. "It seems to me that train has slowed down pretty significantly," Christie said.

Asked about several Republican U.S. senators who have entered the race, Christie said he expected a governor or former governor would win the Republican party nomination. "I don't believe that we've done well with the experience of a one-term U.S. senator being the president of the United States."

Also in the interview, Christie said he's healthy more than two years after he had weight-loss surgery.

He said the surgery was "the best thing I've ever done for my health," and he wished he had done it sooner.

The governor did not say how much weight he has lost or provide any numbers from his medical tests.

But asked by Lauer whether his doctor had deemed his fit to run for president, Christie said, "Let me put it this way. My cardiologist has donated to my federal PAC."

mhanna@phillynews.com

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@maddiehanna

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Inquirer wire services contributed to this article.