After all the nonsense New Jersey has given us over the years — Snooki and The Situation, toxic waste, long vowels, Bon Jovi (which I'm all too personally familiar with since I grew up there) — there's finally a redeeming gift from the Garden State — Gov. Chris Christie.
Yeah, yeah, I know all about the other GOP darlings and Rick Perry's skyrocketing polls. And Christie himself repeatedly denies he's preparing to make a bid for the White House. But I have a feeling that won't be his stance forever — and it shouldn't be.
Here's a guy who has risen to national prominence largely due to his frankness and directness, with talk that's tougher than half of his state's mobsters (On beachgoers apparently unfazed by Hurricane Irene: "Get the hell off the beach. You've maximized your tan;" on why he sends his kids to private school: "It's none of your business. I don't ask you where you send your kids to school, don't bother me about where I send mine.")
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That confrontational style has made him somewhat of a star in conservative circles and won Republican support from those who might otherwise have been put off by his moderation on some issues (remember John McCain?). Unfortunately, one of those supporters is Ann Coulter, who's more of a hex than an advantage.
After all the partisan baloney Americans have been fed — all the finger pointing and the "it was the previous administration's fault" excuses about a collapsing economy, ballooning health care costs and, oh yeah, that "deal" about the nation's debt, doesn't a no-nonsense, sharp-shooter with a like-it-or-not mentality sound a little more substantial than some "change?"
Christie said he admires the president — a respected admission — but his problem with Obama is that he doesn't think he's gutsy enough. Obama's not quick enough to tell us what he believes and what he believes needs to be done. He's instead too worried about what that can do to his reelection campaign. (Even Christie's state has turned on Obama. Only 44 percent of New Jersey voters approve of the job he's doing; the lowest score for Obama in Quinnipiac polling in a state that he won by 15 percentage points over McCain in 2008.)
As The New York Times' Ross Douthat points out, Christie "embodies the kind of voter who swings elections in America—not a Mormon businessman or a cowboy-booted Texan, but a Catholic with middle-class roots born one state over from the Rust Belt."
Besides, is there a better preparation to running the country than serving as a spending-slashing Republican who's tackled liberal-loving unions in a blue state? Didn't think so.
Now if you'll excuse me, there's a marathon on MTV I'm interested in…
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