Why Christie Will Not Run for President in 2012

Chris Christie is in the news again, especially after his Tuesday speech at the Reagan Library in which he took direct aim at President Obama’s leadership style. An earlier report by New York Post that he was planning to enter the presidential race, coupled with the way he criticized Obama during that speech have heightened the speculation that he might be seriously considering entering the republican race. But here is one simple reason Christie will not enter the current 2012 presidential race: he is not yet ready to risk losing the Christie brand.

One of the reasons that many in the republican base are asking Christie to run now may be due to the sharp contrast between him and President Obama in terms of leadership style. Of course, the hard economic times weakens Obama’s position, and provides an opportunity for a strong challenger. Still, the biggest thing going for Christie is the fact that he is perceived as a straight shooter. He is someone who is not afraid to take a stand; someone who says it the way he feels it. Contrary to the general Obama perception, Christie is seen as someone who shows strong convictions and speaks from the heart. This is the central piece of the Christie brand – an important contrast to an incumbent president generally perceived as lacking strong convictions and presiding over one of the worst economic and political gridlocks in our time. This is therefore one element, above all else, that makes Christie an attractive alternative to Obama.

If this is Christie’s strength, perhaps, it is also the greatest point of weakness for him. In fact, this may well be the only reason he would not run this time. Why? Remember his now famous comment back in November 4, 2010 when he said that, short of suicide, he doesn’t know how else to convince people that he isn’t running? In fact, just last night, John King of CNN was sure to play snippets of Christie’s comments, from the heart as he so often does, that he does not feel qualified to be president of the United States. Well, for most politicians, that won’t be a major problem. After all, politicians change their mind all the time. Obama also said he would not run for president before he changed his mind to run for the 2008 election.

But Christie isn’t just any other politician. At least, that’s what he wants us to believe. His whole brand is based on the fact that he is a straight shooter. He has said it many times that he is not qualified as yet to be president. When he said that, he spoke from the heart; and a lot of people admired him for saying so. It earned him even more respect, and helped to advance his brand of honest, heart-felt politics. So, to make an about-face now will be risking the only thing he had going for him. He is supposed to be a different kind of politician, remember? He is supposed to be the new guy who is different from Obama; someone who isn’t going to allow others to railroad him into a decision for which he is not ready. Therefore, it seems fairly certain that Christie isn’t going to make that gamble – not now at least. He is simply building his way to 2016. All the attention he is getting is important to help build that brand even more. He will continue to position himself as a credible voice of opposition against Obama in the months ahead. But don’t expect him to join this race for 2012.


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