The world of the politically obsessed got a bit more obsessive over the past few days with the possibility that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might join the GOP presidential field.
But last night in a speech at the Reagan Library, the governor closed the door — and yet still left it open a crack …
Coming as it did after Rick Perry’s disastrous performance in last Thursday’s debate, a big speech by a rising star seemed well-timed.
And in his appearance last night, Christie went out of his way to take a shot at Perry’s policy of granting children of illegal aliens in-state tuition at Texas schools.
That was during the Q&A after his beautifully delivered and plain-spoken speech, which was considerably less combative than his famous YouTube performances — a talk about the virtues of finding common ground.
Christie is a Republican governor with a Democratic Legislature. And he said, proudly, that “our bipartisan accomplishments in New Jersey have helped to set a tone that has taken hold across many other states.
“It is a simple but powerful message — lead on the tough issues by telling your citizens the truth about the depth of our challenges.”
But in Washington, he said, the very principle of “American exceptionalism” is being betrayed by politicians who refuse to live up to the responsibilities of serious governance our Constitution demands of them and of us.
The politician he blamed the most was President Obama, whom he devastatingly dubbed a “bystander.”
In speaking this way, Christie certainly laid out an interesting course for a presidential bid — one that would seek to appeal to those primary voters who want a government that can function, not just the most ideologically conservative government imaginable.
Were Christie to run, therefore, he wouldn’t be running to fill the hardline-conservative slot now held so shakily by Rick Perry. He would be running on his own star power and with his own message to conservatives: I get things done, and I would agree with you most of the time … pretty much.
He concluded by thanking a woman who practically begged him to run. He said that Ronald Reagan had been “called” to run, and that the main issue was whether he felt the call “inside me.”
He drew everyone’s attention to an edited series of clips in which he had ruled out a run.
But he never actually said no last night.
And judging from his brilliant performance, he shouldn’t.