Politics

Is Gov. Chris Christie on the short list to be Romney’s VP pick?

Vince Coglianese Editorial Director
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It’s the second coming of Christie … speculation.

Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president, may be one step closer today to selecting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as his 2012 running mate.

Christie was the subject of wild speculation regarding his own chances of running for president in 2012, saying at various times that “I don’t feel ready in my heart to be president” and “Today is not my time,” and even asking, “What do I have to do short of suicide to convince people I’m not running?” But he has been less adamant when asked about his vice presidential ambitions.

“If Governor Romney, who is going to be our nominee, picked up the phone and called me to talk about this, I love my country enough and I love my party enough to listen,” the New Jersey governor said in January.

On Monday the conservative Weekly Standard, which has well-documented goo-goo eyes for the portly powerhouse, added another log to the Christie fire.

“As of Friday, when we wrote the editorial [calling for a Rep. Paul Ryan or Sen. Marco Rubio pick], we’d been led to believe Christie wasn’t in serious consideration. We now have reason to think he may be. So to be clear: We’d certainly include him with Ryan and Rubio as potential gold medal finalists,” wrote editors Stephen Hayes and William Kristol.

Kristol did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request to elaborate on what motivated the change. A spokesperson for Christie had no comment.

Christie answered the latest round of questions on the matter in a press conference in Middlesex, N.J. on Monday by brushing off the value a vice presidential nominee brings to a ticket.

“In the end nobody votes for vice president; they vote for president,” Christie told reporters, “No one’s saying, ‘I’m not sure about this Obama guy but, boy, I love Biden.”

“[T]he people will vote for either President Obama or Mitt Romney and I don’t think Joe Biden played any role four years ago,” Christie continued, “and I don’t think he’ll play any significant role now and I don’t think that whoever is selected as vice president will play any significant political electoral role.”

Also, the website Politico reported Tuesday that Mike DuHaime, a top Christie adviser, will be lending his advice to the Republican National Committee “for the remainder of the cycle.”

The move may not indicate anything about Christie’s prospects, as DuHaime has a history of involvement in Republican campaigns for president. But if Christie should be Romney’s choice, DuHaime may become an even more useful resource to the RNC.

DuHaime did not immediately respond to an email request for comment Tuesday.

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