Scott Brown burst on the scene, by virtue of a come-from-behind win for the Massachusetts Senate seat, left vacant by Ted Kennedy due to his passing. The sheer magnitude of his accomplishment, in the bluest of blue states, coupled with a good, end of campaign performance and rugged good looks and an appeal that was reinforced with his past Burt Reynolds-esque spread in Cosmopolitan magazine, had people dreamy eyed and already talking of bigger things for him in 2012. Not so much since, being his rookie year in the Senate and his dropping from view, a bit, since assuming office.
But, for Republican hopes for the future and gauging political "hunky-ness", through the measure of governing by core republican principles and in taking his state's fiscal bull by the horns, a state, by the way, that is one of the nation's true, economic basket cases. Or by handling whatever needs being handled, by taking ownership of problems he inherited and implementing and fighting for, the solutions as he sees them. Handling also, with ease, a snarky reporter at a press conference, who's acted as a foil to him in the past - through confidence, sharp wit and just being himself...New Jersey's rotund Governor, Chris Christie, is one sexy, sexy man.
The liberal reporter, Tom in the video, asks the Governor if he thinks his "confrontational tone" will increase the chances of passing a piece of legislation. Apparently, there is history between Christie and this reporter. However, instead of just going off on him - Christie intelligently and confidently riffed on this guy with the precise measure of sarcasm that wasn't condescending, along with sharply stating his case about what he's been tasked to do, by the voters, as well as who he is. It was a masterful display of owning a moment and bringing everyone with him. And all this without a teleprompter anywhere in sight.
Like a lot of people, with these first elections that took on an air of being a referendum on Obama's first year - the gubernatorial race, in New Jersey caught my interest and for those of us not as familiar with Chris Christie, we got a glimpse of the man. He was self-effacing and smart and came off as a good and honest family man and he made his point with the voters of New Jersey. So, they threw in their lot with him, to get them out of fiscal hell and just maybe erase the memories of a state rife with political corruption.
Make no mistake - over the course of Christie's first 100 days, from freezing all state spending to address the its budgetary woes, to painful budget cuts across the board. From pension limits for state workers, to battling the Teacher's Union on wages and benefits. (a battle he's winning since what he's asking is not unreasonable - a one year salary freeze and that teachers pay the same toward their health benefits as state employees pay, 1.5 percent of their salaries) There have many tough choices and some bumps in the road. These are just some things the Governor is doing to keep New Jersey afloat and bring it back. While, at the same time, attempting to hold the line on taxes.
Its a tall order with no guarantee of success. But if Christie pulls it off and brings his state back from potential economic ruin. Not to mention the fact, that he's already caught the national eye. If his story and that of his home state unfolds into one with a happy ending, while the rest of the country is watching and we continue to be further exposed the the inherent, good qualities that Chris Christie obviously possesses...2012 could become a very interesting time, because this guy isn't just another pretty face.
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