Christie's Fading Hopes

NEW JERSEY - Governor Chris Christie had a lot going for him when he entered the Republican field: he is a brash, plain spoken former U.S. Attorney who won the governorship in a very liberal state with a fairly right of center platform. 

However, in a political climate that is demanding ideological rigidity and is hostile to the appearance of moderation, Christie has floundered in the middle of the pack, and may continue to fall even further down the list. 

As reported by Politico:

Chris Christie, the voluble New Jersey governor, is once again facing the possibility that he might be relegated to the junior varsity debate — and rival Republican campaigns and outside observers say his window to re-enter the top tier of presidential candidates is closing fast.

Wednesday night’s scene in New Hampshire showed the daunting challenge ahead of Christie. As CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC covered Trump’s first town hall live — breaking only to run clips of Jeb Bush attacking the real estate tycoon — Christie was gasping for air on C-SPAN. Because the governor’s dimly lit event — a town hall at a restaurant outside of Manchester — was outdoors, the few viewers watching saw the candidate gradually disappear into darkness. The next day’s headlines duly focused on the Jeb-Donald contretemps, ignoring Christie’s play for a state he has made central to his fading White House hopes.

Jumping up from Fox News' junior varsity debate is one thing, but dropping down at CNN's is a different story altogether, and unless Christie can turn it around, his campaign might be on death's door.