Chris Christie fills the GOP void

President Obama hasn’t even started his second term as president, but from all appearances it looks like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is already positioning himself for the 2016 presidential campaign.

Of course, Christie told ABC News this morning that it would be "crazy" for anybody to try to "plan four years from now."

He added: "What I want to do now is be the governor of New Jersey, as I said, for the last three years, I’d like to do it for the next four."

But with Christie’s face gracing the cover of this week’s TIME magazine and his approval rate soaring in his home state, it’s hard to take him at his word.

A new Fairleigh Dickenson poll shows Christie crushing three potential Democratic challengers in his re-election later this year. With no formidable opponents, its easy to understand why Christie might embrace the national attention. And with Republicans currently facing a national leadership void in their party, Christie appears willing to fill it.

He even hinted at possible national ambitions, noting he'll be more prepared to run in 2016 than he was in 2012. 

"I will be more ready than I was in 2012 because I will have done my job for longer and hopefully gotten better."