Surgery or no, Christie looks like he’s gearing up for 2016

Hardball host Chris Matthews on the New Jersey governor's lap band surgery: "So maybe the governor of New Jersey is getting in shape to run - or maybe just to improve his health. In any case, it will be good to have him as a prospect for 2016."

Let me finish tonight with this.

America has governed itself best when it has two presidential candidates who can credibly lead the country.

It has not done so well when one party gives up the center and plunges off into the extremes.

We saw this with Goldwater in ’64 and McGovern in ’72. In each case we were left with no choice on election day – I’m speaking of the country at large – and left with a presidency that lacked an earned connection with the American people. One led us to Vietnam, the other to Watergate.

It’s far better to have elections when both candidates were credible.

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Let me be honest, I like it that way. I like to know that, if a candidate I start the campaign with ends up totally disappointing me I have an option in November, someone I’d prefer to see president.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

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Chris Christie looks like he’s gearing up to make a run. Whether he is or not, he conforms to my notion of a credible candidate. It’s his political value system I suppose. He made clear last year that he’s willing to work with the other party to get things done.

So maybe the governor of New Jersey is getting in shape to run – or maybe just to improve his health. In any case, it will be good to have him as a prospect for 2016, if only because he’s someone many people on both sides of the political middle can imagine voting for.