My take on the Christie decision...

[WCGreen]

I firmly believe that Christie is the only legitimate republican who could defeat president Obama.

I think that up until about late last week, the governor was going to step in.

But after Cantor made it clear that he was not going to take any action at all on the Obama job creation proposal, Christie saw that it would be futile to run as a republican when the congressional party seems to be hell bent on beating the president and not on governing.

The decision made by the congressional republicans to obstruct and little else is a loosing strategy because the American people want some action. They are tired of tax cuts and Voodoo economics. They know there is nothing there except more of the same.

And to be frank, I don't believe that the republican party that is embraced by northeastern politicians is not half baked as the sun belt GOP who do not connect with the rest of the country.

Not this time, at least.

So in the end, Christie looked at the political lay of the land that was cobbled together by ideologues and not practical politicians, he choose no to be part of that train wreck.

Can he win in the future?

Well, I think the demographics for the GOP are disturbing as more and more people out there are pragmatic and not ideologues.

That explains why there is such a rush to get their agenda enacted in the states and to grab as much from the federal position that they can.

[yourout]

1. My gut says there is some serious dirty laudry hiding somewere and......

he wants no part of it coming out.

There is a reason he turned down what very likely could have been the Presidency and I doubt it was his scrouples.

[WCGreen]

3. Seriously, the congressional republicans are making it impossible

for a republican to win nationally.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. + 1

Even if Christie won and became POTUS, what makes anyone think that he can "lead" the House and the Senate even if they're the same party? Because technically, they are but practically they aren't. Christie, an establishment conservative, won't be able to reign the Tea Party represented by Eric Cantor or Mitch McConnell, who have their own agendas. Even if Christie had a plan to create jobs, the plan would have as much chance of enactment as anything proposed by this WH.

[RZM]

2. I think it was more about the fact that it's way too late to get in the game

He would have to get to work raising money, crisscross Iowa, New Hampshire and everywhere else, and all while not missing a step in governing New Jersey. My opinion is that had he run, he would have been going for the running mate slot anyway. That's a lot of work in a short amount of time. It was just way too late. He'll probably be a factor in the 2016 race, but we'll see.

[WCGreen]

4. See I disagree because there is no excitement for any of the

other republican candidates.

The money is going to go toward establishing a more solid majority in the house and trying to capture the senate.

[RZM]

9. You may be right

But realistic or not, they really want to get rid of Obama and a lot of effort will go to that as well. My personal opinion is that it's going to be a Mittster/Rubio ticket and they will lose. I don't want to say 'you heard it here first,' because others have said it. But you did hear it here ;)

[Booster]

5. I don't think they want a Repubican president right now. They

are getting exactly what they want and then they blame it on Mr. Obama. That's a sweet deal for them and they aren't done yet.

[patrice]

6. Agreed! + a solidified absolutely reliable drunk on pretend power base.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. He looked dangerous to me...

But between his weight issues, and the lateness of his potential start, I agree: Not this time for him...

Down the road?

Maybe.

[Kalidurga]

8. Actually this might be the only year he would have had a shot...

he could get a lot of momentum from being the new kid on the block. Compared to the rest of the crowd he looks sane, except for being compared to Romney who only looks sane because he has the personality of toast. But, then he has something Romney doesn't or at least he appears to have some spark some fire in the belly and he is a bully from what I heard, which while that doesn't appeal to a lot of people it does appeal to the Republican base. So, I think he had a good shot at the nomination. And the short running time would probably be to his advantage as well, because the less people know about most Republican candidates the higher their approval rating is of them.

[GreenStormCloud]

10. Is it possible that he just didn't want the headaches that come with POTUS? N/T

[WCGreen]

11. Anything is possible....

[rasputin1952]

12. Christie has only 2+ years of experience as an elected public official...

that alone seals a loss.

As for the GOP, nothing embarrasses them, (think Reagan and 2 bush's...not to mention the clown car they have unloaded with the current candidates.

The GOP has become filled with ideologues, ideologues that have absolutely nothing to offer the country but tax cuts and deregulation, the very things that got us into trouble in the first place; and 2+ unfunded major conflicts sealed the serious downspike in the economy.

Add to the situation that the R's ran on jobs, but immediately went to the destruction of social safety nets and Christie being sued over his decision to simply stop the tunnel and not return federal funds and you have the recipe for disaster at the polls.

[Whats_Happening]

13. I think Romney is "legitimate" enough to challenge --

Don't forget, Republicans tend to belive in "it's your turn" and will rally around, if apppropriate, the man who tried for it last time, which today, is Romney --

Sure, he's a Mormon, but when it comes down to a Mormon vs. a Reverend Wright "secret Muslim" I think for even the extreme right-wingers, it's a wash. :shrug:

Honestly, Christie is just too fucking fat. Are most Americans overweight? Sure they are -- but most of them even still are not as obese as Christie.

Look, if Christie wanted to run, he would have taken advantage of Governor's pay and a Governor's health care plan to get liposuction and a stomach staple by now. He has the money and the (medical) insurance, but he didn't take that route. Some people speculate he has skeletons in the closet -- I don't know about that, but if he does have skeletons, I imagine they're in the pantry instead. :shrug: