Many of Mitt Romney’s problems arise from his lack of authenticity. This suggests that he should choose a running mate who conveys a feeling of he-just-can’t-help-himself genuineness. Which is why all the talk about his unwillingness to consider New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the vice-presidential slot is a bit of a mystery to me.
To be fair, Christie has an excessively large mouth. He’s easily provoked. He turns up late to speeches on occasion. He doesn’t quit when he’s ahead. He is no one’s idea of a deputy. And, of course, he is unwieldy and overweight and makes Romney look anorexic by comparison. On the other hand, if Romney wanted to actually win, he might consider choosing Christie.
The most talked-about of Romney’s vice-presidential possibilities, while in possession of impressive resumes, are almost comically bland. Will Romney fill arenas with them? Are any of them particularly skilled at speaking to disaffected blue-collar workers, to Reagan Democrats, without condescension? Minnesota ex-Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a blue-collar background, but he didn’t connect with the white working class, or with anyone else, in his abbreviated run for president.
None of the candidates matches Christie’s preternatural ability to explain Republican deficit-reduction ideas without coming off as bloodless budget-cutters.
I’ve spent some time following Christie across New Jersey, to town-hall meetings mainly, but also on visits to social-service agencies and, most entertainingly, to a Bruce Springsteen concert in Newark. His town halls are famous for their confrontational tone, but in truth, shouting matches are rare.
What isn’t rare are huge, overflow crowds. I attended events, mainly in high-school gymnasiums, over the past few months, and at each one fire marshals had to cap attendance.
Why do people come by the hundreds to weekday morning meetings in small towns? Because Christie gives them something they want. Not so much the sarcasm (which can be enjoyable), but the skillful, tenacious and blunt articulation of just where New Jersey’s government has gone off the rails — in its budget-making, in its management of state-worker pensions and in its uncanny ability to create unfunded mandates. No one in national politics does a better job of arguing against deficit spending than Christie.
An easy prediction: Christie would be filling basketball arenas with wildly enthusiastic fiscal conservatives within two weeks of being chosen as Romney’s running mate.
Jeffrey Goldberg is a national correspondent for The Atlantic.
©2012, Bloomberg News.