Chris Christie pulled the plug on a 2012 White House bid in typical blunt fashion saying “Now is not my time.” hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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“I have a commitment to New Jersey that I simply will not abandon,” the governor said in politely rebuffing calls for him to run from GOP icons such as Nancy Reagan and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me,” Christie said in breaking the news.
Christie initially ruled out a run over the summer, but reconsidered after being nudged by Reagan and others.
Christie acknowledged he had “an obligation to seriously consider what people were asking me to do.”
“It didn’t feel right to me – in my gut,” Christie concluded, noting he “thought long and hard” about challenging President Obama.
Christie, who took over in Trenton two years ago, insisted he already has “a great job, and I love doing it.”
Some party mandarins were pining for Christie to jump in and shake up the GOP field after growing dissatisfied with current frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rick Perry.
Christie got a taste of the rough-and-tumble White House campaign this week, when he took a shot from Obama.
“The guy’s thinking about running for President. He’s going to say a lot of stuff, and I think in Republican primaries, saying nasty stuff about me is probably – polls pretty well,” Obama told ABC News Monday.
But the barbs won’t play nearly as well with “the folks in New Jersey,” the President added.
Christie’s office declined to comment on Obama’s jab.
Party leaders and grass-roots organizers in key primary states like New Hampshire and South Carolina say they never heard a peep about Christie’s intentions from his camp.
