Pat Buchanan presents a well-founded, opposing view that makes a lot of sense.
Will Christie be the candidate in 2016?
Put me down as a skeptic.
Some of us yet recall James “Scotty” Reston of the New York Times writing in 1963 that Nelson Rockefeller had as much chance of losing the Republican nomination as he did of going broke.
Comes the retort: Christie is no Nelson Rockefeller, but a pro-life conservative with five kids and Middle American values.
Why then the skepticism?
Geography, persona and culture — for openers.
The Republican Party is a Southern, Midwestern and Western party, suburban and rural. Not since Tom Dewey in 1948 has the GOP nominated a candidate from the urban Northeast.
And Chris Christie is not only from New Jersey; he is indelibly and proudly so.
The candidate who comes closest to him is Rudy Giuliani, hero of 9/11. Christie may be the hero of Hurricane Sandy, but Sandy is not remembered nationwide like the shock and horror 9/11.
As Rudy won two terms in the toughest turf in America for a Republican, New York City, Christie has now won two terms in New Jersey.
So, how did Rudy, who started off 2008 as the front-runner in the Republican polls, do? He did not win a single primary.
