Chris Christie in 20-never

I greatly respect Gov. Christie for what he knows. He knows how to be effective, he knows how to speak, he knows how to work with people, and most importantly he knows how to lead.

See, there are few people in our country that have that ability to lead. There is a difference between leaders, managers, and figureheads. If you don't believe me, go read a couple decades' of Dilbert. Can you call the Pointy Haired Boss a leader? On the contrary; he's nothing but a manager. Gov. Christie doesn't manage his state. He doesn't just oversee his state. He doesn't sit back and field the underhanded pitches, playing some abstract figurehead in NJ. He leads. And that quality, coupled with the strength of conviction and effective realism is why he'd make a presidential candidate I would be proud to support...

...which is why I don't think he should run in 2012. Do we need him? Oh, more than ever. But Gov. Christie, when asked about a run in '12, said very plainly "No". And I believe him. I believe that he will first and foremost uphold his promise to the residents of New Jersey to lead them well, and he will fulfill that promise. He won't pull a Sarah Palin and eject from office before the first term is up. He won't be like Obama and leave his post to seek higher fame and fortune. His sense of duty, and his sense of honor, will keep him in the place where he can do the most good for the people who need him. That place, for the time being, is Trenton.

I'll be honest with you- if he does decide to run in '12, I would be overjoyed. But that feeling of hope for positive change will be joined by a sense of sadness and some respect lost for the Governor- because he backed down on his word. It's that bittersweet promise to see his term through that hamstrings those of us not in NJ, but a man who keeps his word is rare enough these days.

A man in his position willing to care for his state at the expense of the idol polticians call higher office isn't a member of the rarity these days- he's a member of a class almost extinct.

Poem of the Day

"The Journey"


One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.


-Mary Oliver