After flirting with the idea of launching his own 2012 campaign, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday endorsed Mitt Romney for president, praising the former Massachusetts governor as "the man we need to lead America" and noting Romney's mix of government and business experience. A spokesman for Romney rival Rick Perry said it's unsurprising that two Northeast Republicans are "sticking together." Given the similarities between Christie and Romney, does this endorsement really matter?
No, these Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) deserve each other: So much for the "ridiculous nonsense" people were spouting about Christie as a "feisty populist conservative alternative to Mitt Romney,"says Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain. Both of them, along with Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, and Jon Huntsman, are part of the "big-money RINO-lanche" the GOP establishment is rallying to keep the nomination from going to a real conservative, like the surging Herman Cain.
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This won't put Romney over the top, but it helps: Most endorsements don't matter, but Christie's does, says Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post. "His nod signals to the fence sitters" that it's time to stop looking for "some greener pasture," whether it's Herman Cain or somebody else. As a charismatic entitlement reformer, Christie will give Romney's campaign a welcome "injection of boldness." And there's no denying that Christie's endorsement is also "an embarrassing thumbs down" to fellow governor, Rick Perry.
"Christie endorsement will be big boost for Romney"
Christie is confirming Romney's inevitability: Christie would never endorse the "out-of-the-mainstream ideologies" of the other candidates, says the Newark Star-Ledger in an editorial. He has "moderate, common-sense positions on guns, climate change, and immigration" — and no tolerance for the "crazy" Tea Partiers who objected when he appointed a Muslim judge. "It's most important for Christie, the consummate politician, to back the winner" and his endorsement makes it that much clearer that Romney is most likely to succeed, because he's least likely to implode.
"Chris Christie endorses Mitt Romney, picking the moderate most like him"