Christie, Santorum make pitches to GOP conclave in Phila.

Gov. Christie tried Friday to win over Republican activists gathered in Philadelphia to hear from several presidential hopefuls, casting himself as a terrorism fighter who wouldn't shy away from blunt talk in a run for the White House.

In remarks spanning a half-hour, Christie emphasized his background as a federal prosecutor after the Sept. 11 attacks - experience he said would set him apart in the 2016 field.

Of the declared or potential candidates, "you are looking at the only one who has actually used the Patriot Act," he said. "The only one who has actually investigated and prosecuted terrorists." He attacked Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a GOP candidate who helped force the expiration of key Patriot Act provisions, saying, "What Sen. Paul has done to this country has made us weaker and more vulnerable."

Christie, who has not announced a presidential run, spoke at the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown. The meeting, which began Thursday and ends Saturday, has drawn several of the party's contenders - including Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania - and about 600 GOP activists from around the region to the city.

It was organized by Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Rob Gleason with the idea of gaining influence for a region that is often overlooked in a Sunbelt-centric party. Former New York Gov. George Pataki spoke Thursday. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is among those leading in the polls, is scheduled to speak Saturday.

Attendees have heard from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), and other party leaders.

Earlier Friday, Santorum brought his campaign home, saying the party needs to focus on winning blue-collar voters if it is to take back the White House.

Santorum represented Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2007 and ran for president in 2012, winning the Iowa caucus and several primaries before finishing second to Mitt Romney in the nomination contest.

While he made his national political reputation as a champion of social-conservative causes, Santorum is stressing the economic issues of the working class in his second run.

Santorum said that with multimillionaire Romney as the nominee, Republicans were easily typecast as caring only about the wealthy.

But he argued that the effects of Democratic policies - "they're killing all the manufacturing with their crazy environmental policies" - had created an opportunity for Republicans in 2016.

Another declared candidate, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, canceled his appearance Friday to return to his state in the wake of the shooting that left nine people dead at a church in Charleston.

Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, criticized President Obama for mentioning the need for gun control measures in his first statement after the Emanuel A.M.E. massacre.

"This was another example of using a tragedy to advance a political agenda," Fiorina told reporters after making her pitch to the conference. "We ought to come together in sorrow and reverence for the victims." She said more attention needs to be paid to mental health and "the culture of violence that surrounds us."

While he didn't mention the massacre in his Philadelphia remarks, Christie called earlier in the day for prayer and said new gun laws weren't the answer.

"Laws won't change this," he said at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, which drew religious conservatives. "Only the good will and the love of the American people can let those folks know that that act was unacceptable."

At the Washington event, Christie also touted his vetoes of Planned Parenthood funding and described his "pro-life" push to rehabilitate drug offenders.

In Philadelphia, he focused on foreign policy. Accusing Obama of diminishing America's standing abroad, Christie said Obama was living "in his own world."

"The world I live in and you live in, we know what's going on," Christie said, citing terrorist threats in Western Europe and describing Middle Eastern countries - Iraq, Libya, Syria - as "in disarray and on fire."

He said Obama was "too distracted giving away nuclear weapons to Iran" to focus on China, alluding to China's recent construction at islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

Christie painted himself as tough on national security, drawing primarily on his role as U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

"I fought terrorism. I put terrorists in jail," he said.

Christie has cited his involvement as U.S. attorney in two cases - that of a group whose plan to attack Fort Dix was foiled by authorities and of a British arms dealer ensnared by a U.S. government informant. But it is unclear to what extent the Patriot Act played a role in their prosecution.

While making his arguments in favor of U.S. intelligence efforts a cornerstone of his national pitch, Christie has acknowledged that he did not use the National Security Agency metadata program that generated much of the controversy around the Patriot Act, and which he has defended.

Before the party faithful Friday, he also touted his record as chairman of the Republican Governors Association last year, claiming credit for the election of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in Obama's home state of Illinois - "My personal gift to Barack Obama," he said.

Christie played up his reputation for bluntness, saying his rebuke of reporters for "stupid" questions or his scolding of a protester to "sit down and shut up" weren't examples of him flying off the handle.

"This is who I am," Christie said, adding that he wondered whether "the American people are tired of" a "professor in the Oval Office."

He drew on tested laugh lines about his Irish father and Sicilian mother, saying she had taught him to speak his mind.

Christie impressed Perry Hamilton, 63, of Lower Merion, who called him "a gifted speaker."

But "we have at least six guys just like him," Hamilton said. Evaluating Christie's appeal, Hamilton said the New Jersey governor's strength could also be a weakness.

"Attitude," he said. "Sometimes I could do without that."

Marlene Carrier, 80, a state GOP committee member from Perry County, liked that Christie "spits it right out there."

"I think people are so damn sick of political correctness," said Carrier, who is also interested in Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Walker.