Chris Christie for President

the president and his team ha[ve]n’t even contemplated the possibility of a re-election loss. They comfort themselves with the beliefs the GOP field is fatally flawed, demographics are working to their advantage, and Obama is a spectacularly good politician. Even states such as North Carolina and Georgia will be up for grabs. . . this self-confidence borders on being delusional.

--Peter Wehner, Commentary

We are in the midst of a once-in-a-generation debate about the nature of the welfare state (entitlement versus safety net) and, indeed, of the social contract between citizen and state (e.g., whether Congress can mandate – compel – you to purchase whatever it wills). Let's finish that debate. Start with Obama's abysmal stewardship, root it in his out-of-touch social-democratic ideology, and win. That would create the strongest mandate for conservative governance since the Reagan era.

--Charles Krauthammer, conservative columnist

This blog wants New Jersey governor Chris Christe to be president in 2012.

No question, the weaker Obama looks, the more likely Christie is to run. Christie isn’t going to run because he’s the Republicans’ best shot. Running for president is, literally, deadly serious business. It’s not volunteering for charity work. Good candidates with alternative political futures take on this massive, life-disrupting battle when they calculate they can win. Christie isn’t going to run unless he sees a clear path to the White House. Obama’s declining popularity makes a Christie run more possible.

And we are seeing signs Christie could take the first step, winning the nomination. Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard reported that when a group of heavyweight Iowa Republican fundraisers flew to New Jersey to urge Chris Christie to run for president, they came away with the impression that while Christie didn’t say he’d run, he didn’t rule it out as emphatically as he had before.

And here’s a report from the New York Post’s Josh Margolin:

Republican leaders from Henry Kissinger to House Speaker John Boehner have encouraged [Christie] to run. And well-heeled GOP donors in New York have been spreading word that Christie has privately shown a willingness to consider it. They say Christie might enter the race if he can get part of his pension-reform agenda passed in Trenton and score a GOP takeover of one of the Democratic-controlled houses of the state Legislature in November.

Well, the latest news out of New Jersey has Christie pointing to a June 30th wrap-up of the current legislature, with Democratic Senate president Stephen Sweeney on board to pass a state pension and health benefits reform package. Sweeney needs to deliver 4 other Democrat votes to the Senate Republican bloc, and now the Democratic-controlled State Assembly has countered on health benefits with a compromise proposal that would lock in Christie's benefits reform for only three years. If Christie accepts the compromise, he may have cleared a path to run for president.

Margolin wrote that Christie spokesman Mike DuHaime rejected his story that Christie might run, saying, "This is just wishful thinking . . . He is not running, and he is not cracking the door open even a little bit." But DuHaime couldn’t resist commenting on reports the Obama camp is already doing opposition research on Christie. DuHaime called the reports "an acknowledgment that Christie is a bold leader successfully taking on big challenges as governor. A leader who cuts spending and takes on the special interests tends to earn notice at the highest levels."

Our Christie watch continues.