http://blog.nj.com/njv_tom_moran/2012/08/five_things_the_rest_of_americ.html#incart_hbx
Tom Moran of the New Jersey Star Ledger set out to explode some of the myths surrounding the Christie legacy.
Some of his comments were "honest and refreshing", just like the Governor whose "dark, political" side he was seeking to expose.
Some of his findings are already well-known, which may in part explain why Christie decided not to run for President during the 2012 cycle.
He lies like the rest of them [politicians], and then some.
I understand that Governor Christie is not going to appeal to the country the same way that he appeals to his own New Jersey Constituency. I remember his blunt demeanor during a press conference early in his term:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrA6jan7Ujc
Where's the proof, though, that his guy lied about not cutting spending? When Christie told one reporter he should see him when he gets " pissed":
Christie believes in "Less government, lower taxes, empowering local officials to fix their problems."
That's what Christie said at a press conference shortly after getting elected! Nothing about not curbing pensions or cutting spending. He asked teachers to contribute one more percent toward their benefits. When they refused, Christie had to issue massive cuts to public education.
He breathes fire, but he governs effectively as a moderate.
To the New Jersey voters, he certainly does breathe fire. He has also candidly admitted that he had gotten into the room with both sides of the legislature to forge compromise through leadership. There is nothing untoward or unforeseen about that. During his first Sunday morning interview on Channel 7, he presented the facts to news anchor Jake Taper without embellishment and bravado. On the national media circuit, he is more polished and moderate altogether.
The “New Jersey Comeback” is a fiction, and he knows it.
This is still a matter of debate. The bond rating may have gone done, but the state rated highest for corruption-busting, and Christie did cut tax rates down considerably.
He’s not extreme enough for the Republican base.
Most Republicans are aware of this. John Stossel criticized Christie for pandering to the idea that a college education was the gateway to prosperity, even though the glut of students, degrees, and increasing workforce looking for work after graduating from college would suggest that the record is quite mixed.
We on the West Coast are also well-aware that he supports gun control and believes in climate change. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney instituted RomneyCare for the Bay State, yet that has not stopped him from winning the GOP Presidential nomination and gain a slow lead over President Obama.
He has a secret weapon: New Jersey’s Democratic bosses.
Well, how else did Governor Christie expect to implement the necessary changes to get the state working again, to get taxes down and spending down? He had no leverage to take on the public sector unions until h reached out to the party boss who caters to the private sector collective.
I take into account that the Star Ledger, like many "mainstream" newspapers, has a liberal bias, as many newsroom tend to side with the more elitist-idealist worldview of academics and intellectuals, which many explain why the newspaper industry is losing profit an revenue share at an accelerated pace.
Notwithstanding Todd Moran's revelations about Chris Christie, political commentators such as myself still esteem the leadership and courage of the New Jersey governor, a statesman who kept his promise to ease the burden of the state on the taxpayer without letting the state sink into the Atlantic, a politician who was not willing to dance around the serious issues of the day — pension liabilities, public union dominance in the state house, the failure of high taxation as a revenue source — and was willing to speak the truth to the voters, no matter how much the truth may have hurt.