"straight-shooting, tough-talking, regular guy" persona might fade away. His "charm" (and I use the word advisedly) comes from his 'guy next door' attitude that he projects when he's talking to Oprah and other interviewers.

He can get pissy and mean though--if people see a bit more of that, they might not be so charmed.

Those of you who live in NJ see the guy every day--to the rest of America, though, he's a "character" who is a Republican but one who didn't act snotty to Obama, and he likes Springsteen (which is apparently VERY important to some people, for reasons that escape me--I mean, I like BBKing, but I don't base my electoral decisions on whether or not the candidates I support like him as well)!

For Springsteen to agree to meet him. I hope he does something for Buono. Even a strong statement regarding who he is voting for would nip that in the bud.

(Teachers, Police, Fire Fighters)?

And you can bet that neither democrat nor republican is voting for the candidate for Lieutenant Governor who will assume stewardship of this state when Christie has to resign to run for president. Bait and switch.

They are falling for the Koch Brothers and 1%'s nonsense? Seriously - I can't ignore those things - can you? We have good friends in each of those professions - it is horrible what this man is doing.

...in order to play to the wants of NJ's Teabaggers.

How about some slack. Sure, some folks will follow anyone who makes a lot of noise and seems self-assured. You can't lump us all in with a handful of nitwits.

What can you do to help us? We need your help - because obviously you are not one of the star struck. Do you think the failure in Wisconsin in regards to Walker makes liberals and progressives afraid to lose in a Blue State?

They aren't nitwits - they are people that have been filled with passion for progressive values yet they refuse to see that we have an almost perfect liberal and progressive running in this race.

If i come across as not being nice about it - we'll . . . I can't apologize.

It's my $7896 in yearly property taxes in addition to STATE income taxes in play. I pay that money for a certain level of public good and public services yet this fool took Sandy money from the Fed and used it for a 2016 Presidential commercial and 2013 Gubernatorial election.

As far as I'm concerned - we are in General Election, the beaches close on Labor Day - no more Stronger than the Storm.

and apparently has 20x the amount of cash on hand. It seems like you folks have your work cut out for you. I sympathize with you, but my meager resources won't stretch that far. I can see what makes Christie attractive to people without strongly held political views. He's forceful and dynamic and has the Common Touch, and that blinds some to his darker qualities. I wish you well in the effort to unseat him.

Not long ago that was 30% - without cash or calls or anything at all from the Democratic party.

And I'm sorry - but you did give to his campaign. Federal Funds are paying for his Stronger Than The Storm campaign slogan.

We're funding NSA and drone strikes too.

He has to have red meat for the conservative mad dogs. NJ Dems would make a HUGE mistake to keep this guy around. He's a true believer in the Corporate State.

the media has put lipstick on him and called him a darling, but he is a greedy, union busting, school closing, nasty republican through and through.

Just like McCain. The media painted him up also. "Mavericky" they said he was. But scratch him and he was a republican through and through.

I find it amazing that so many jersians vote for this facade. I guess they like rude jerks who take food out of the mouths of kids.

I don't support Chris Christie in anyway, shape, or form.

Let's see, a Republican who's a former U.S. attorney, who was then elected to an executive position in a blue state, who has a well-crafted media image as a take-charge guy, and who is not a complete RWNJ on some of the social issues -- and who asks the Republican Party's conservative base to overlook their dislike of some of his more moderate positions, and to nominate him because he can win in November.

Why does all of this sound familiar?

It's because that was essentially Giuliani's playbook. In 2007, some commentators thought he was the front-runner for the nomination. Instead, he crashed and burned, proving to be much more popular among the commentariat than among the Republican rank and file.

Nor will the right-wing base be any more forgiving this time. Twice in a row, the Republicans have run a Presidential candidate who was identified with the party's more centrist wing, who was denounced by the base as a RINO, and who was touted as being the most electable. Twice in row, the supposedly more electable candidate has lost. The centrists' position has been undercut. The 2008 and 2012 results have strengthened the position of those who think that the Republican Party's problem has been that it hasn't run a genuine conservative, and that a Palin-Cruz ticket would storm to victory.

Yes, Christie will tack hard right if he decides to seek the nomination, but the conservative base will point out that Romney did the same.

My prediction: If Christie runs, he'll get clobbered. Withdrawal by the end of March.

then we will truly be screwed - still Buono is running a sucky campaign, I volunteered to work again and still have received no answer, guess she does not want to have a staff.