Why Chris Christie should — and shouldn’t — run for president

The Washington Post's The Fix ^ | September 25, 2011 | Chris Cillizza

[2ndDivisionVet]

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s recent stumbles — his rambling attempt at last week’s GOP presidential debate to attack former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s flip-flopping is a prime example — have renewed speculation that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might rethink his “no go” decision on the 2012 race.

Even as some Republican donors make the case — again — that this is Christie’s moment, his closest advisers insist that nothing has changed, pointing to comments he made last week at New Jersey’s Rider University in which he said he still isn’t interested.

Of course, at that same event, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, himself the subject of much 2012 speculation, said he is “not taking ‘no.’ . . . I’m taking ‘not yet’ ” in regard to Christie’s presidential aspirations.

Although we think Christie means what he says about the race, we also couldn’t resist laying out three reasons why he should run and three reasons why he shouldn’t. (We are our own devil’s advocate.)

Why he should

1. Timing matters. As Barack Obama proved in 2008, timing is everything in politics. Christie’s tough-talking approach and pledge to speak hard truths to Garden State voters has turned him into a national hero among the tea party crowd.

--snip--

2. Money. There’s no question that certain major donors — primarily in the New York and New Jersey area — are simply waiting for Christie to say “yes” to put an aggressive cash collection in place that would immediately make the New Jersey governor a force to be reckoned with on the fundraising front. No other potential candidate — including former Alaska governor Sarah Palin — could put together so much money so quickly....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Just keep tossing the RINOs at us and we'll keep batting them down, knuckleheads.

[Brilliant]

We don’t need another liberal in the race.

[ken21]

ditto.

[Bigtigermike]

Christie should run —— about 2 miles a day

[THX 1138]

Christie’s tough-talking approach and pledge to speak hard truths to Garden State voters has turned him into a national hero among the tea party crowd.

Says who?

More liberal fantasies...

[rfp1234]

Nyet. Because his ‘running’ would cause a 4.5 mag quake at every step. And because he’s a gungrabbing RINO. And because NJ needs him more.

[Soothesayer9]

That is what happens when you have a desk job for 10 hours a day and favor Taco Bell over gyms and weights. Once youre over 35 it is downhill unless you work out.

[T-Bird45]

Fantasies???? Any WaPo article speaking positively of any RINO is more along the lines of wet dreams...

[Jonty30]

I really despise the lack of commitment that politicians have for their jobs.

As much as I like Christie, I hope that he doesn’t run for president and New Jersey voters kick his ass for even suggesting that he might prematurely leave the state to go national.

[Sylvester McMonkey McBean]

The establishment needs a new candidate to run under the R label, since it looks like the hoi polloi aren’t taking the MittHuntPerry bait.

[KeyLargo]

Yep.

Newsmax
Sabato: Christie Could Win It All In 2012
Sunday, September 25, 2011 04:44 PM

By: Gary Cohen

The Republican Party needs a new top candidate for president, and a newly stirring Gov. Chris Christie would fill that void, University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato reveals to Newsmax in an exclusive interview.

And beyond filling a void, Sabato says New Jersey’s Republican governor can win the GOP nomination and conceivably go on to defeat President Barack Obama in 2012.

Sabato explains that he thinks the Republican Party is “disappointed with Perry and Romney,” and the party “has an appetite for a new candidate.” In describing the Christie’s ability to go up against the top-tier candidates, Sabato adds, “Christie is in a league with those two.”