National Review: Yes. Believe me, I’ve been interested in politics my whole life. I see the opportunity. But I just don’t believe that’s why you run. Like I said at AEI, I have people calling me and saying to me, “Let me explain to you how you could win.” And I’m like, “You’re barking up the wrong tree. I already know I could win.” That’s not the issue. The issue is not me sitting here and saying, “Geez, it might be too hard. I don’t think I can win.” I see the opportunity both at the primary level and at the general election level. I see the opportunity.
But I’ve got to believe I’m ready to be president, and I don’t. And I think that that’s the basis you have to make that decision. I think when you have people who make the decision just based upon seeing the opportunity you have a much greater likelihood that you’re going to have a president who is not ready. And then we all suffer from that. Even if you’re a conservative, if your conservative president is not ready, you’re not going to be good anyway because you’re going to get rolled all over the place in that town.
I just see how much better I get at this job every day, and I do, and I learn things. If not every day, at least every week. And my wife and I were actually talking about this last night. We had dinner together with the family after the [New Jersey budget] speech and she was saying how much better she thought I was yesterday than I had been before in my speech. She said, “You are getting better.”
That’s just the nature of life. So, I see the opportunity, I recognize and understand it and I’m really flattered that people think of me that way. But, if I don’t believe it in here [pointing to his heart], I’m not going to be a good candidate on top of everything else.
And remember in the context of sitting there on election night 2009, and my wife and I were convinced we were going to lose. It is a bit to get your arms around, too. You’re a successful United States attorney and then within a year of that time you have people talking about you and I was running around campaigning for folks. All of these handmade “Christie for President” signs in the crowds when I was in Michigan and Iowa and all the other places that I went, Ohio and Pennsylvania and Florida. It’s also been overwhelming, too.
Like I said before, I am who I am and people have to trust, they don’t have to but they should trust, my instincts on this. I know me better than anyone else knows me. If I felt like I was ready, I’d go, but I’m not. But I’m also not going to go if I don’t think I’m ready.
When I walked into the Governor’s office last January there have been some difficult days in the job. There has never been a day where I’ve felt like I’m over my head, I don’t know what to do, I’m lost. I don’t know whether I’d feel the same way if I walked into the Oval Office a year and a half from now. So, unless you get yourself to the point where you really believe you have a shot to be successful, then I don’t think you have any business running for it.
Truth be told, Christie is right, he could win. Chris Christie has the two big keys to 2012 success;
- He knows how to deliver the message that it is time for America to take its medicine.
- He is more than capable of standing up to the buckets of evil the left is going to dump on him.
Add to the mix Christie's confrontational style (Obama doesn't handle confrontation well) and you have a winning formula.
I think we should take Christie at his word that he is not running in 2012. I don't think we should count him out for the VP spot though, especially if Romney is the nominee.
A political player here in NJ told me the other day that the Republican establishment is actually quite OK with an Obama second term. Their reasoning is that taking control in 2012 would mean that Republicans would have to do a lot of unpopular things to get the country back on track. As such, they could be thrown out once again in 2016. Thus it would be better to let the nation suffer 4 more years and then come to the rescue in 2016.
It is truly cynical but oh so doable.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: National Review
Posts
4 comments:
I love Christie because he IS confrontational but running is his call. He MAY hit a wall because of the Muslim he's just appointed to one of the higher Jersey courts - that won't sit well with a whole lotta people in today's environment. And I don't know if this country can take four more years of Obama - I know I CAN'T! And Romney is a RINO - way too liberal to pass the sniff test.
Just my thoughts. Great post.
I'll admit I haven't done very much research on Gov. Christie's background but from what I was reading yesterday it seems like he has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to his Muslim ideas. When you appoint someone who wants Sharia Law to be the law of the land to a high position judgeship, then I have some concerns and problems. Especially when that person is tied directly to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. I wish I could say, 'that's not a big deal', but it is.... to me at least.
I really do appreciate how he is not going to run for President just to be running. But when he's ready to take on the responsibilities of the job then he'll run. I'm convinced that he wants the office so he can try to resolve the problems we have, not just to make himself more popular or to hold the title of 'President of the United States of America'. He doesn't seem to be on a power trip and/or seeking vain glory, I like that.
OMG, not Romney!! I really don't want to vote for a candidate whose only claim to fame is that he's not Obama. We can't survive 6 more years of Obama. We'll be lucky to survive the next 2. How about the cocktail party quit worrying about looking good and do the right thing? We need a 2012 candidate to step away from the pack of cocktail party candidates and be a force to reckon with.
Ugh, agree about Romney.
Post a Comment