Media Bummer: Chris Christie Was Almost Mitt’s VP
US News
Chris Christie has blown back into the news—and not just because of the hurricane.
Turns out he came very close to becoming Mitt Romney’s running mate.
What a field day the media would have had. Christie makes great copy, which is why his bear hug of Barack Obama in the aftermath of Sandy became such a huge story. The governor is a blunt, street-talking Jersey guy who scolds just about everyone—reporters and voters alike—who rubs him the wrong way. And that makes him lots o’ fun to cover—the polar opposite of today’s tightly-scripted, blow-dried, on-message pols.
Politico reports that Romney had settled on Christie for VP but then switched to Paul Ryan, angering the Christie side because the governor wasn’t given a heads-up until shortly before the official announcement. This raises the intriguing subplot that maybe Christie’s professed indifference to Romney visiting his state after the hurricane involves some lingering resentment.
Perhaps Romney made Christie his keynote convention speaker as a sort of consolation prize—and the governor responded by mainly talking about himself.
Christie, who admits he’d make a lousy No. 2, might well have overshadowed Romney with his colorful, shoot-from-the-lip style. The press would have been all over him, waiting for him to commit news, along with endless profiles and weighty pieces on his girth. And a Christie-Biden debate? The whole tenor of the campaign coverage would have been very different.
Well, there’s always 2016.
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