With Texas Gov. Rick Perry's frontrunner status suddenly in doubt, Republican insiders and donors are reportedly begging blunt-spoken New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to run for president. Christie, whose tough handling of the Garden State's budget and unions earned him conservative-darling status, has repeatedly dismissed calls to jump into the 2012 race. But with the pressure rising again, he's having "second thoughts," the New York Post reports. Is Christie the candidate the GOP is looking for?
The GOP needs Chris Christie: "I don't think he's getting in, but man would I love to be wrong," says John Sexton at Verum Serum. Christie's record suggests he could "turn this economy around." While he lacks Obama's magic and soaring rhetoric, he can reel off facts and figures with ease, sans teleprompter, and "frames issues in a way that's compelling and understandable to average voters." No doubt about it, Christie's "the man for the moment."
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