Who Is Chris Christie, Really?

  If you believe all the hype being fulminated by the Republican spin machine, Chris Christie is the greatest thing to carry their mantel since the Sanctified Ronald Reagan.

  Sure, the only statewide elective office he ever held was when he was elected governor of New Jersey in 2009.   Right wing pundits point to his victory in "heavily Democratic New Jersey" as proof of his broad appeal.  What this simplistic analysis ignores is that in winning the gubernatorial race, he defeated Jon Corzine, who carried quite a lot of baggage of his own, including an ongoing relationship with the female head of one of the largest public employee unions in the state.  Add to that the wave of discontent with incumbents that spread across the country with the recession which began in 2008, and the victory is not nearly so remarkable.  Indeed, Christie enjoyed a huge lead in the initial polling as the voters expressed desire for "anyone but Corzine," only to see his double digit lead dwindle as the voters got better acquainted with him, his positions, and his record.

   Also, despite its reputation, New Jersey actually has a history of electing Republican governors, including Tom Kean and Christine Todd Whitman, then replacing them with Democrats (e.g. Corzine and Jim McGreevy).

   So who is Chris Christie?  His only other elective post (unless you count student government) was that of Freeholder back in the 90s.  He was a corporate attorney and lobbyist, in a firm with strong Republican ties, who pressed Karl Rove to have Pres. Bush appoint him as New Jersey Prosecutor.  That position can be a springboard for the politically ambitious, with many opportunities for successful prosecution of high profile political and criminal cases, many of which require several years of work by previous administrations and the FBI.

  For a very good factual introduction to Christie's background, turn to Wikipedia, every school child's first source for information.  Maybe it's not quite as sanitized or slanted as the PR flacks would like it, but it does cover the waterfront.Granted, some in Trenton may not want everything to be included, but they have their own paid apparati to disseminate all the news that they see fit.

  Another very good information source is an oft-cited profile from New York Magazine "The Answer is No!" (yeah, I know, "those people" on the other side of the Hudson River).  But for now, it is one of the better sources of deep background on Chris Christie.

   Try to separate fact from myth.  There is a lot of "legend in the making" rhetoric spewing from the propaganda machines, so the more you really know, the better you will be.