It has taken me a while to get on the Chris Christie bandwagon. To be sure, as soon as he entered the GOP primary race, I was pleased and grateful. The fact that he remains the only Republican candidate who is saying the unvarnished truth about January 6 and the Trump White House is as admirable as it is remarkable. But for various reasons (some of which I will explain below) I discounted the seriousness of Christie's campaign for the presidency. At best I deemed it an act of noblesse oblige: his candidacy could only matter to the extent that it impacted the political fortunes of Donald Trump. I no longer feel that way. Christie is a serious candidate for the presidency, and whatever the outcome of this election his candidacy is going to have an enduring impact.
I confess that Christie's own history colored my initial view of him. I believed (and still do) that Christie ordered the traffic obstruction at the George Washington Bridge meant to punish the mayor of Fort Lee for failing to endorse Christie's gubernatorial campaign in 2013. That was an act of political vengeance so venal it made me blanch to think he might become president some day. It was arguably a foretaste of Trumpism: the use of government power to punish one's political enemies is what defines Trump.
Perhaps it is a measure of my own weakness of mind that I am now willing to forgive Bridgegate. The world has moved on: we have had such a grotesque monster in the Oval Office that, even if Christie has not repented of his ways, he could not possibly do anything but raise the mean quality of the presidency from the point to which it has sunk. Moreover, even though we are very early in the 2024 race, Christie has already displayed qualities that counterbalance the flaws of Bridgegate.
My conversion began with the news of Christie's trip to the Ukraine. Even before hearing him speak about the visit, I was impressed by the very fact that he undertook it. It was the act of a leader. He knows that many in his party (including the current front runner) are pushing a message that US support for Ukraine is at best a fruitless quagmire, at worst the corrupt quid pro quo for a bribe paid to Hunter Biden. By taking the political risk of visiting Ukraine, Christie both displayed unequivocal support for the embattled nation and developed unimpeachable credibility for speaking to the issue.
My new appreciation for Christie was solidified by seeing him speak this morning on live cable television. Morning Joe hosted Christie during the "C segment" of the broadcast, placing him at a table with Al Sharpton and Richard Haas. It was the kind of candid forum that few career politicians have either the courage, the intelligence, or the verbal skill to endure. Both of the other guests grilled him with tough questions about racial issues and foreign policy, and he provided answers that, if not completely spontaneous (Christie has a gift for making talking points and stump speeches sound extemporaneous), were thoughtful and substantive. He either has the right values, or he literally does a good enough impression of them for government work.
I was especially impressed by Christie's discussion of Ukraine. He is critical of the Biden administration in ways that are forceful without being unrealistic. He decried the wisdom of giving Ukraine only enough weapons to keep them from losing. Giving Zelensky everything he is asking for still might not change the tide of battle, Christie conceded, but expecting the Ukrainian military to produce results while facing an 11 to 1 disadvantage in artillery and airpower is ridiculous. If the US is serious about supporting Ukraine, we must provide them with the weapons that will give them a fighting chance, including enough F-15 fighters to make a difference.
It is a message that deserves a hearing, and that would make for an excellent debate during the national presidential campaign. In a sane world, Christie would sail to the Republican nomination. Though the dynamics of the primary race massively favor Donald Trump at the moment, I would not count Christie out.
It is difficult for me to imagine a scenario in which I would vote for Christie over Biden. His positions on reproductive freedom, climate change, and entitlements are all deal breakers for any lifelong Democrat. But I must concede that his winning the nomination, and even the presidency, would be a positive development for the nation. Christie is a competent and conscientious politician, and for our constitutional order to survive there has to be a place for such people in both of the major political parties. Unless and until we can go back to a situation in which the Republican Party is a habitat in which someone like Chris Christie can thrive, our democracy remains in peril of collapse.
