Chris Christie on the Radar

"Leadership today in America has to be about doing the big things and being courageous."

--Gov. Chris Christie, 2.16.11

Chris Christie came to Washington today, spoke to a packed audience at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and left people wondering why he wouldn’t run for president next year. The first question he got following his speech was about running, and he responded:

Well, that took a long time, didn't it? I threatened to commit suicide, I did. I said, “What do I have to do short of suicide to convince people I'm not running?” Apparently I have to actually commit suicide to convince people I'm not running.

According to reporter Scott Conroy, Christie added there was an opportunity to mount a successful presidential campaign, but opportunity alone was not a good enough reason to run, he simply was not up for it, and he had made a commitment to his New Jersey constituents. "My wife would kill me," he added.

First-string Washington Post political reporter Chris Cillizza, who was also at the event, said Christie’s speech “had all the traditional markers of someone eyeing national office.” Cillizza believes “there is a slot for an tea party economic conservative in the [GOP] field” and “Christie is the most obvious person” to “fill that spot.”

I have argued that Christie’s “the man,” and also that he has months before he must commit to running.