Too Big for His Britches?

This morning on “Morning Joe,” John Heilemann revealed a Governor Chris Christie flaw that has me in a funk.  He said that Christie told Mitt Romney that he could not do a 2012 presidential fund-raiser in New Jersey until Christie had endorsed him (see: Time Magazine Story).  If true, this was obviously one of the (possibly many) vetted reasons that Romney did not pick Christie as his vice-presidential running mate.  And, is the fact that Romney didn’t pick him, the reason why Christie, as retribution, gave President Obama a big bear hug right before the 2012 election?

Christie claimed in his recent two-hour televised denial of any involvement in the Bridgegate “scandal” that he is “not a bully.”  Now, after seeing him operate over the last two years, we all know that this is not quite true.  But his machismo was part of his charm and differentiated him as a possible presidential candidate … he (unlike Romney) could stand up to the take-no-prisoners tactics of the Democrats. But I think most of us believed that his gruffness would just be only directed to his opponents … not toward those in his own party.  Maybe we were naive.

Now if Chris Christie were to win the 2016 Republican nomination, would the American people then be forced to trade-in Chicago-style thuggery for New Jersey- or Arkansas-style thuggery?  Yipes, not a very happy thought!  Let us hope that, in losing some of his physical girth (as a result of his gastric bypass), Christie also loses some of his too-big-for-his-britches management style.  If he learns a little humility and fair-play, then maybe … just maybe … he might make a good President.  If not, choosing between Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie would be very painful indeed.