Actually, come to think of it, I would argue that it is physically impossible for Christie to run... Oops, I did it again...
I dunno, he may be right. Christie is both sane and brutally truthful, and he'd blow a huge hole in the blue Northeast, one that Obama could never make up anywhere else. He'd of course take NJ, PA would almost certainly go, and NY would be seriously in play. Florida has a lot of retirees from NJ, so that would give him a good chance of grabbing that one too. It would at minimum force the Dems to spend money on states they thought they could more or less take for granted. On paper, at least, given the combo of a weak economy and a sane Republican from the Northeast, Obama would be toast. I used to think Christie would wait until 2016, but the problem of getting the nomination is fading fast now that the insane ones are fading, and the problem of winning the general election is pretty much gone, IF the Republicans are smart enough to run someone reasonable, competent, and popular from the North, which is I'm sure what those donors meeting with him are thinking. There's only one person I can think of who fits that description.
Fucking Brilliant. Well Done. My understanding is that there is a large contingent of moderate Dem, Independent, and Republican business types and entrepeneurs who are making a sustained and stupidly well financed pitch at him - and they are being very persistent. Deep pockets. Conviction that will not go away.
Ricter, of all people, replied to me in a post several weeks ago that he would seriously consider voting for Christie. All kidding aside, that is a revealing comment about the state of our country and the regard for the current Presidency.
Another thing that must be going through Christie's mind is the time frame he could be looking at for another legitimate shot if he doesnt win now. Romney is now looking like the front runner and if he wins and does a bad job, Hillary could be president in 2016. If Hillary does a good job she would be tough to beat in 2020. That would mean Christie's next legitimate shot would be 13 years from now in 2024. If Romney wins and does a good enough job to win again in 2016, that would mean he would be running again and Christie's next chance would be in 2020. If Romney got chased out of office after 8 years like our previous 2 presidents have, and a dem was guaranteed to win in 2020, that would put his next shot at 2024, and if whatever democrat got elected in 2020, got re-elected that could mean Christie would have to wait till 2028. I think any way you break it down, when Christie sees the very real chance that a republican is about 50/50 win in 2012, that means that Christie wont get his next legitimate shot for atleast another 13 years.
The republican party does have a problem. The current line up has unelectable written all over it. Yeah, they can appease the crazies in the base, but that's about it. Huntsman is the rational choice of the current gang, but he's just not hostile enough to make them happy. Plus he believes in that crazy evolution stuff putting him at odds with the goofball evangelicals. Christie could sway people like me. I love his straight forward attitude. I really don't think he's anti labor. He's just anti doing the same stupid shit over and over again. Big difference. So long as the "consultants" and "handlers" didn't try to throttle him back, he'd have a shot. But he's got a big problem and it's his waistline. Yes, it shouldn't be an issue, but it is. They'll play the stress of the presidency could kill a big guy like him, and that's a legit concern to some degree. You want to see a winning ticket? Christie/Huntsman. Christie will appeal to those that appreciate a straight shooter, even if they sometimes disagree. That works for people like me. I don't expect to agree on every single issue. Just tell it like it is and then go do your f'n job. Huntsman will bring back all those white folk that voted for Obama just to say they did. They've learned their lesson. I know, I talk to many of them everyday. And if Christie drops dead in office, Huntsman ain't a bad second. Other than that, say hello to four more years of Obama.
After seeing this chart on Intrade im finally going to open an account there. The contract for him to win the republican nominee went all the way up to 95, and closed above 90 yesterday all on that news article. As a reversion trader, i am salivating when i look at that, I mean even if he had already announced he was running i would only put him at like 90%. Today its back down to 10. That site has a tendency to badly over react to news articles. I was trying to find some sort of a Time and Sales for the contract but couldnt find one im curious how much you could have shorted above 90%.