Former New Jersey governor Tom Kean, who has known Chris Christie since he was a teenager and remains an informal adviser, tells National Review Online that the governor is “very seriously” considering a presidential bid.
“It’s real,” Kean says. “He’s giving it a lot of thought. I think the odds are a lot better now than they were a couple weeks ago.”
Christie remains undecided, Kean says, but is listening closely to pleas from party leaders. The chance for a “Jersey guy” to rise, Kean says, is not something Christie has sought. But now, with the field up for grabs, he is actively mulling a late entry.
“More and more people are talking to him,” Kean says. “He’s getting appeals from major figures around the country.” Kean, for his part, is also encouraging the first-term Republican to jump in. “He is the best speaker I may have ever heard in politics,” he tells me.
“In an era when most people suspect that politicians read polls and then tell you what they think, people don’t believe he’s that kind of a fellow,” Kean says. “He tells you what he thinks, period. We like that around here.”
“A lot of people are not satisfied with the field,” Kean says. “I know he’s getting advice from all sides.” In coming days, “he’s not going to tease anybody.” If circumstances do change — and Kean makes no predictions — “he’s not going to hide it.”
I’d love, love, love for Christie to get in, but he better stop being coy about it and jump in if he is serious. Perry's fall is pretty clear evidence that excitement won't protect your lead once the vetting begins - only being a good candidate will.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAll we need is another heart-attack candidate.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnd the low road, well traveled.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSince when is telling the truth the low road?
Actually, if you've ever seen Christy without his jacket you'd have to wonder why anyone would need to eat that much.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOh please, please, please, please!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCue the "heavyweight contender" jokes.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf people don't like Romney, will they really like this guy? He's not exactly a down the line conservative. He's bombastic and takes on unions...is that all there is though?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI love Christie's personality, but his cultural liberalism gives me the shakes. If he tapped Ryan, Santorum or Rubio for the veep, I might be induced to pull the lever for him rather than stay home in a bowel-stewing sulk (apologies to Jonah) on election night.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusewhat does picking a VP have to do with how he will govern? Aside from W, Presidents don't even speak to their VP's. So Christie's VP pick is irrelevant to what kind of President he will be.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTrue. But the VPship is a stepping stone to the presidency. And if we can get a culturally conservative VP we may actually get a culturally conservative president into the bargain, albeit further down the road.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo you'd rather end up with another four years of vapidity, horribleness and a worse economy?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOf course I want none of that. But at some point conservatives have to send a message to the GOP that it cannot keep shoving liberal nominees down our throats. And if four more years of the Obaminable Conman is the price to pay to get that message across, it might be worth it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCan anyone tell me anything about this guy's positions?
Abortion?
Immigration?
Judges?
Gun Control?
Middle East?
All I know is he is abrasive when questioned by constituents.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCome on. His positions don't matter.
Just like Rick Perry, he's the one we need.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSince you asked Daniel C
Abortion - he is strong pro-life
Immigration - he loves immigration - all
forms
Judges - appointed a Muslim to a high
court
Gun Control - favors it
Middle East - see judges
He is a major east coast RINO
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCan anyone tell me anything about this guy's positions?
Abortion? - WAY to the left of anyone currently running on the republican side, marginally to the right of the triple headed hydra of Obama, Reid, Pelosi.
Immigration? - GWB republican here.
Judges? - "bipartisan". Would never appoint a hard conservative. Best to hope for is a David Souter type of nomination.
Gun Control? - He is from NJ, one of the worst states for Gun Control, and he has appointed people who will not roll back any of it, and will defend what the state position currently is, to the bitter end and beyond.
Middle East? - Appears to be a pretty solid Republican here.
If he is the best the republicans can produce then maybe I should join Alec Baldwin in Canada or France or wherever he moved to.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseUm...they do know WHY Republican voters aren't happy with the field, don't they? It's not because there's a lack of squishy establishment types in the race. Romney won't do; Romney with a cowboy accent won't do; what makes them think Romney with a Jersey accent will suffice? Romney can't shake Romneycare; Perry can't shake the Dream Act or Gardasil mandates; how will Christie shake his Obamacare waiver game, or his Sohail Mohammed appointment, or his support for cap-and-trade?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJust once, I would like to vote for a candidate because I really believed in him/her and not because he/she is the lesser of two evils.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe's extremely bad on gay marriage, abortion, and every other "social" issue you can name, as well as on immigration. He's Rudy Giuliani all over again, and as soon as he waxes whimsical about his Italian grandparents in response to a question about mass immigration from the Third World, he'll be toast. This is absolutely absurd. The second he turns his take-no-prisoners style on conservative critics, all you YouTube cheerleaders will wake up to the fact that a man doesn't become governor of New Jersey by being a rock-ribbed conservative.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou should do some homework before making such claims. He has be against gay marriage from the start. He never said much about abortion until recently when he revealed he was pro-choice until his kids were born - 14 years ago.
His only major defect on social issues is the gun issue. He could fix that enough, I think. The fact that he is a Catholic is probably the killer, much the same way Romney's religion hurts him in the south.
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