Gov. Chris Christie for President in 2012 - His success in New Jersey has made him highly sought after around the country

Like most people, I have a good grasp of what the nature of our country's situation is currently. We are a little over 1/2 way through the Obama era and things are adrift. This feckless idiot who was elected mainly by over-promising and getting political neophytes to follow him has lead us into a position where we are seen as weak by our enemies and lacking the ability to get our own house in order by our allies. He is an incompetant and clueless President.

Obama recently dumped on the British and betrayed info about their Nuke defenses to the Russians. I cannot think of a more naive thing to do then to assist the Russians while hurting a staunch ally like the Brits.

Our economy is adrift and all he can do is run up historic amounts of red ink w/o care on how badly this hurts our country. The President is beholden to the labor unions and their stupidity. He allied himself with Nancy Pelosi, a domestic enemy of the Constitution by all accounts. Her actions have made us a weaker country and her bolstering of the Obamacare legislation was moronic with her famous quote of, " We have to pass the bill to find out what's in it." Are you kidding me?

That said, I want to state that the field of Republicans lining up against Obama look like tired reruns or dangerous amateurs. I have grave concerns that the party will send up someone so feckless that the American public will be totally complacent and re-elect the Fool who sits in the office right now. Romney, Gingrich, Barber, Pawlenty, Palin, etc. ???? They are all adrift...Romney is a snakeoil salesman....take it from me as I lived in Massachusetts during his time in office....After he speaks to you, you feel like you need a shower.

So, where does that leave us?? we need someone who can make a difference, is not afraid to take on the system and has shown they have the "fight" in the belly needed to shake up the system.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey fits the bill. He is the one person I have seen who has taken on the Labor idjits in his own state and not let up. He calls them out and has shown he is willing to do what is right for his people, the citizens of New Jersey.

Think about how tough that must be, in a state like New Jersey to stand up to the forces of complacency. If that isn't political courage, I don't know what is.

I am encouraging him to think hard & long about running. We need someone who can counter the crappola coming out of Washington and Chris Christie has the right stuff.

I have family in New Jersey and all I can say is if you have my Mom-in-law's support, you have to be doing something right.

Governor Chris Christie for President 2012.....We can show the establishment that there is a candidate who will make a difference and not drag our country down like POTUS has done. Let's get behind the good Gentleman from New Jersey and put the country back on the right track.


Christie to outline 'big things' in Washington speech
By: CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Washington (CNN) - No matter many times he denies having his sights on the White House in 2012, presidential buzz seems to follow New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wherever he goes.

His latest foray onto the national stage comes Wednesday, when Christie will deliver a high-profile speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute titled "It's Time to Do the Big Things" - a plea to other political leaders to confront the country's fiscal problems head-on, much like has done in the Garden State.

The Christie appearance has stirred up so much interest that AEI cannot accommodate all the reporters who want to cover the speech in person.

His popularity among Republicans – and the media - speaks to the wide-open state of the early presidential field, which so far lacks a candidate with the kind of star power and broad appeal that some Republicans say will be necessary to go head-to-head with President Obama next year.

The rotund governor has also developed an enthusiastic national following thanks to his brash and confrontational brand of politics, on display in various YouTube videos uploaded by his staff that depict Christie clashing with unionized teachers at town-hall meetings across New Jersey.

As Christie toured the country last October with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty in an effort to elect other GOP governors, Christie was met with a rock-star welcome at nearly every event.

At one such stop in Ohio, Christie lingered for nearly 30 minutes after the event to meet swarms of autograph seekers, while Barbour and Pawlenty - two Republicans actually mounting presidential bids - slipped out the back.

Christie skipped last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, but still managed to finish in a surprising tie for third in the conference's presidential straw poll along with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who spent three days at the event getting his libertarian-leaning supporters to the ballot box.

The unexpected result was revealed just moments after conservative pundit Ann Coulter implored the CPAC crowd to draft Christie into the presidential race.

"If we don't run Chris Christie, Mitt Romney will be the nominee and we will lose," Coulter declared.

While the governor has rejected invitations to speak in key presidential nominating states like Iowa and recently turned down an offer to deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union, Christie and his team have had a hand in stirring up the national buzz.

He recently sat for glowing interviews with "60 Minutes" and "The Today Show, for instance, and his advisers made clear to reporters that a January dinner with Romney at the New Jersey's governor's mansion came at the request of the former Massachusetts governor.

On Wednesday, the Republican Governors Association announced that Christie will serve as the political organization's Policy Vice Chairman. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the RGA Chairman, said Christie "has been a powerful example of the tremendous impact governors can make in their states and nationwide."

And now the governor is stepping into the spotlight once again in Washington, in full view of a press corps hungry for any sign of life in the slow-moving presidential race. Not that the White House is on his mind, of course.

"I am not surprised that he is continuing to share his message of fiscal sanity and shared sacrifice," said New Jersey Republican National Committeeman Bill Palatucci, one of Christie's closest friends and supporters. "His success in New Jersey with this agenda has made him highly sought after around the country."

OUR MAN in NJ keeps up the efforts to bring sanity back to Government - US NAVY JEEP Supports Gov. Chris Christie of NJ

More good words regarding OUR MAN in New Jersey - My wife's family has lived in the GAHDEN State for many years and I found it an OK kind of place (nothing to get excited about but not bad either - especially nice at the shore but then again, it ain't as good as Cape Cod)

Looks like Gov. Christie has been keeping the heat on the Public Employees and their greedy Unions....LOVE IT - You go Governor - Keep it up and maybe with your efforts, we can one day save ourselves from the greedy " Public Servants" who have set themselves up as the "privileged class"-

Damn the Greedy Bastards. It is time to stop those who work in Government from using our taxes as their personal piggy bank.

US Navy Jeep heartily endorses the Governor's efforts to take the fight to the bastards who rob the taxpayers by rigging the system in their favor.

Chris Christie's Star Turn Raises National Prospects, Nearly $9 Million for GOP http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/11/chris-christies-star-turn-raises-national-prospects-nearly-9/

The unlikely emergence of Chris Christie proves once again that you can never tell who is going to take off in the public imagination. The New Jersey governor not only rocked on the 2010 campaign trail, he quickly became a regular on short lists of Republican presidential prospects.

A year ago, the new Republican governor to watch was the one who prevailed in the only other gubernatorial race of 2009, Bob McDonnell of Virginia. The even-tempered, perfectly coiffed McDonnell ran a textbook campaign, won by 17 percentage points and was chosen to give the televised GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address.

To the north, in a different kind of campaign, Christie was demanding that Gov. Jon Corzine "man up and say I'm fat" in response to Corzine ads that made unsubtle allusions to Christie's size. Toward the end, conservative columnist Paul Mulshine suggested Christie's campaign might be the worst-run in state history and accused him of "trying to reinvent the flat tire."

A four-point victory transformed Christie's standing but not his style. Between battles with Democrats and their allies, he raised nearly $9 million this year for Republican candidates, according to political adviser Mike DuHaime (considerably more than McDonnell's $2.5 million). Throughout, the former federal prosecutor has maintained a trademark manner so blunt and combative that the Quinnipiac University Poll routinely asks New Jersey residents whether they consider him a leader or a bully. "Leader" has hovered at 50 percent in recent months.

Both Christie and McDonnell laid impressive groundwork this year for their political futures, hitting the trail in 15 and 17 states, respectively. Their paths crossed in only six states: gubernatorial races in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, California, Illinois and Maryland. Beyond that, their itineraries diverged, with Christie for the most part staying out of southern, border and conservative states.

The New Jersey governor campaigned in governor's races in Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Connecticut, Minnesota and Oregon; Senate races in Connecticut, Delaware and Florida; and four House races in Pennsylvania. He made repeated trips for Rust Belt candidates, including three for Tom Corbett, now the governor-elect of Pennsylvania.

At one rally for Corbett, Christie happily described how New Jersey Democrats compared him to "Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, all those great leaders of the past," after he had dealt with a budget deficit by declaring a fiscal emergency, impounding money and issuing executive orders. "I fixed it by myself," he said.

In California, a finger-pointing Christie faced down a hostile questioner at a Meg Whitman event, talking over him loudly to tell him that "it's people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country." The clip ended up making Christie famous across the political spectrum.

My first and only encounter with Christie came at the National Governors Association meeting in Boston last summer. Standing under the Massachusetts statehouse dome, talking with unfamiliar reporters who expected bipartisan pleasantries, he launched into a scorching attack on public employee unions. He accused them of refusing to share the pain of the recession.

A month later, New Jersey was in the news for losing $400 million in the competitive "Race to the Top" education grants from the federal government. The culprit appeared to be a clerical error (budget data for the wrong year) that cost the state three points and knocked it into 11th place. But Christie's frosty relations with labor soon emerged as another, perhaps larger factor in the loss.

Teacher-union support is worth far more than three points to federal evaluators and has been a hallmark of winning grant applications. It turned out Christie had at the last minute rejected an application that then-education commissioner Bret Schundler had worked out with the New Jersey Education Association. The budget glitch "would have been irrelevant" had the overall application been stronger, said NJEA spokesman Steve Baker.

Christie fired Schundler in August. In subpoenaed testimony under oath last month to a legislative committee, Schundler said the compromise plan gave Christie 90 percent of what he wanted and he could have pursued the rest in the legislature. But he said Christie insisted the compromises be dropped and the application be hastily rewritten because a talk radio host was saying he had "caved in to the union."

A former Jersey City mayor and two-time candidate for governor, Schundler told me he was compelled to testify and his goal has not been to "take on" the governor. He even told me that he is not surprised at Christie's success on the national campaign trail. "He's struck chords which for [Republican] primary voters are attractive. He has shown willingness to make very aggressive cuts in spending growth," Schundler said.

DuHaime said Christie was in high demand in part because of political geography. "We talk an awful lot as a party about cutting spending and cutting taxes and living within our means, and he's proven you can do it in a blue state with a Democratic-controlled state legislature," DuHaime said. "He's doing a good job as governor in a place where people thought it might be difficult."

Baker, citing $820 million in education cuts that Christie is trying to impose, offered a different reason for Christie's success: "People across the country don't have to live with the consequences of the decisions that he's making." So far, however, Christie is holding his own. A new poll from Quinnipiac finds that 52 percent approve of his handling of the state budget, versus 42 percent who disapprove.

The Race to the Top fiasco has not cramped the governor's penchant for bold moves and fighting words. In recent weeks he has killed a new commuter rail tunnel to Manhattan, saying it's too expensive (commuters and invest-in-infrastructure types were stricken, but 53 percent in New Jersey support Christie's decision).

He also told teen-agers in Trenton that if their teachers "cared about learning," they would not be "in Atlantic City having a party." It was a reference to the education association's annual convention, held Nov. 4-5, which this year featured 300 seminars and workshops, classroom technology demonstrations and 700 exhibitors. "The governor has once again spoken passionately without the facts," NJEA vice president Wendell Steinhauer told the local Fox affiliate.

In Virginia, controversial headlines usually involve not McDonnell but Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative firebrand who succeeded McDonnell as state attorney general. McDonnell -- conservative but no firebrand -- is usually in the role of smoothing feathers after Cuccinelli has ruffled them.

The governor did have one major controversy of his own, after he failed to mention slavery in a proclamation of Confederate History Month in April. McDonnell later apologized for what he called his "major and unacceptable omission." He said next year's proclamation will be called "Civil War in Virginia" and written to remember all Virginians. The conciliatory gesture and language (he had made, he said, "an error of haste and not of heart") were widely praised.

Out on the campaign trail, in addition to states he had in common with Christie, McDonnell helped out in governor's races in Nevada, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Vermont and Massachusetts; Senate races in Missouri, Washington, Arizona and California; and nine House races in Virginia. Since he is limited to one term by law, he will have to find something else to do in 2014.

Sadly for their fans, neither of the 2009 governors will likely be running for president in 2012. McDonnell has said he is "fully committed" to serving his four years. Christie said last weekend on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he is "absolutely" not running. Some are skeptical about the repeated denials, but DuHaime offered three more this week in one sentence. "He's not running, he's not running, he's not running," he told me.

Christie and McDonnell will each have nearly three years in office when it comes time for the GOP nominee to pick a vice president -- a year more than former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had under her belt when John McCain tapped her. The odds are probably better for McDonnell than Christie. "Can you see me as somebody's vice president?" Christie asked on "Meet the Press." "I would feel bad for that poor man or woman."

Nor does he plan to change. Said the man nicknamed Gov. Wrecking Ball, "I am who I am." It's an open question how that will play outside the northeast and Midwest, and over time. Lucky for him, he's 48 and not term-limited. The 2013 gubernatorial election will be a test of how well he wears.

Walking the walk: NJ Gov. Chris Christie to cut 1,200 public sector jobs

Governor Chris Christie is the kind of new Politician who we need more of in our Capitals...He is a no nonsense guy who calls out those who have been gouging the Taxpayers for years...Of course that makes him a target for Unions and their Public Employee membership....

As far as I'm concerned, all I can say is, YOU GO GOVERNOR ! I don't live in New Jersey but you are my kind of Politician and maybe, just maybe, you can be an example how others can change the landscape so the rest of us can stop getting gouged by state & local employees who have set themselves up as a privileged class.

Now some of them can get an idea what the rest of us have been dealing with for the past few years...a little perspective is a good thing.

He will also be on Meet the Press this Sunday 11/07/10...

Walking the walk: NJ Gov. Chris Christie to cut 1,200 public sector jobs
By: Mark Hemingway
Washington Examiner Commentary Staff Writer
11/04/10

Since assuming office, Chris Christie has been relentlessly hammering home the message that New Jersey’s state government, which is badly in the red, must live within its means. But he’s also not afraid to make the tough decisions either. Whereas the previous governor, Jon Corzine, struck a deal to prevent layoffs in the public sector at a time when private sector workers were unemployed in record numbers, here comes Christie taking on the public sector unions:

State government is on track to shed at least 1,200 jobs in January, Gov. Chris Christie said today.
“Whether it will grow beyond that, I don’t know,” he said at a Statehouse press conference. “That’s very much going to be dependent on what the revenue outlook looks like for the state.”

The job cuts include layoffs and attrition, spokesman Michael Drewniak said.

How much do you think unions are going to spend to take Christie out when he runs for reelection? Sky’s the limit, I bet.

"The Teachers Union have set up 2 classes of citizens in NJ: those who enjoy rich public benefits and those who pay for them....

I really don't understand how Public Employee Unions can say the things they do with a straight face.

They KNOW they are taking the taxpayers for a ride - They KNOW they are using the contractual obligations to make sure they get a lifetime ride on the taxpayers - They KNOW that they are acting like they have some "Divine Right" to be insulated from the downturn in our economy even though every other citizen has had to take a serious hit to their lifestyle...

IT IS GALLING to think just because you decided to be a Teacher, or a Fireman, or a Police Officer, you are somehow have an "entitlement" to a lifetime ride from the taxes of others who work hard, contribute to society and do work that is just as worthy of tribute....The obnoxious attitude of Teachers and their Unions are the issue here....I support having good Teachers but NOT handing them a "Blank Check" for their greedy unions.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the voice of reason that is needed....He has taken on the NJ Teacher's Union and I hope he is successful because we need to wrest control of the Schools away from the Unions who don't want accountability or excellence in education, only MORE of your $$$$$.

YOU GO Governor Christie - Our Futures will be determined by your success in breaking the stranglehold on our tax dollars that the Unions have enjoyed for far too long.

Governor Christie's Ultimate Test
By MONICA LANGLEY

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, shown holding a town hall meeting in Scotch Plains, N.J., on Thursday, has seen his star rise nationally.

TRENTON, N.J.—He says she's a "greedy thug" who uses children as "drug mules." She says he's a "bully" and a "liar" who's "obsessed with a vendetta."

Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, and Barbara Keshishian, president of the state's teachers union, say they want to improve public schools. That's where agreement ends. In speeches, mailings and multi-million dollar TV ads, they've battled over teacher salaries, property taxes and federal education grants. They have met once, an encounter that ended when Mr. Christie threw Ms. Keshishian out of his office.

For Mr. Christie, 48 years old, the fight is part policy, part personality. He quickly has positioned himself as a politician in tune with an angry and impatient electorate, and he's already mentioned as a 2012 presidential candidate. He's well aware that the fate of his fight with the teachers union could determine his own. "If I wanted to be sure I'd be re-elected, I'd cozy up with the teachers union," he says in his ornate state office, decorated with Mets memorabilia and a signed guitar from Bruce Springsteen. "But I want far-reaching, not incremental, change."

The governor already has persuaded many voters on a fundamental point: New Jersey pays way too much for education. Mr. Christie's poll numbers dipped earlier after the teachers union began running TV commercials critical of him. But his numbers have rebounded in recent polls. Frederick Hess, education-policy director at the American Enterprise Institute, a think thank that pushes for market-oriented solutions, says a likely new crop of Republican governors who have promised to slash budgets and reform schools will be watching to see how Mr. Christie fares. "New Jersey is the canary in the coal mine," he says.

Ms. Keshishian, the New Jersey Education Association boss, 60, says "change for the sake of change" isn't necessary because, she argues, the state's public-school system is among the best in the nation. "Every single day the governor gives new meaning to the term bully pulpit by attacking me or NJEA—all to raise his political profile," she said.

She's the one "playing personal political assassination by using the dues money of teachers to attack me," said Mr. Christie.

The governor called the state legislature into an emergency session and pushed through a 2% cap in annual increases of property-taxes, which have risen 70% in the past decade in New Jersey. He halted popular projects, including a multibillion-dollar train tunnel to Manhattan.

"Chris will either be the most stunningly effective governor ever in New Jersey, or he will alienate so many constituencies that he can't build the consensus to tackle these grave problems," said Cory Booker, Newark's mayor. The Republican governor recently gave the Democratic mayor a big role in running the Newark public schools, which the state took over in 1995 after declaring them a failure.

Various factors drive education costs especially high in New Jersey. A state supreme court decision years ago found that children in poor communities got inadequate educations and mandated increased funding for their schools. New Jersey is heavily unionized with relatively high salaries for public workers of all stripes, teachers included.

For years, the teachers union has argued that New Jersey pays more but gets more. The state's high-school graduation rate is 82%, the highest in the nation, and New Jersey ranks among the top five states in key subject areas, according to the Education Law Center in Newark, which pushes for better funding for public schools. Its graduation rate for black males is 69%, the highest for a state with a large African-American population, according to a recent report from the Schott Foundation, which advocates "fully resourced, high-quality" public education.

The state is home to elite suburban school districts, including some with racially diverse student bodies. But students in urban school districts fare far worse, prompting Mr. Christie to hammer away at the "achievement gap" between low- and high-income students. Camden's graduation rate is 41% and Trenton's is 43%, according to the Education Law Center.

"Chris Christie isn't the most convenient messenger for the education-reform movement, because of his take-no-prisoners style," says Andrew Rotherham, a co-founder of Bellwether Education Partners, which seeks to accelerate achievement of low-income students. "But he's on to something big—that the huge cost for public schools is no longer sustainable."

New Jersey spends $17,794 a year per pupil, highest in the nation after Washington, D.C. New York isn't far behind at $16,981. California, Florida and Illinois all spend about $11,000; Mississippi, Utah, Tennessee and Idaho spend only about $8,000.

The average New Jersey teacher makes $61,277 a year, well above the U.S. average of $52,800, according to the National Education Association. New Jersey teachers get medical and other benefits costing $19,140 a year, according to the teachers union. The New Jersey Treasurer estimates its unfunded liabilities relating to lifetime health benefits for current and retired teachers is $36.32 billion.

To foot that and other bills, New Jersey residents pay an average of 11.8% of their income in state and local taxes, the highest in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank. The average property tax bill for owner-occupied residences in New Jersey is $6,579, also a U.S. high.

Ms. Keshishian began organizing in college, where she led a sit-in for her women's basketball team, which wanted uniforms and practice time comparable to the men's team. Last year, the former high-school math teacher took the helm of the state's most powerful union.

Mr. Christie was appointed New Jersey's U.S. Attorney in 2002 and successfully prosecuted a number of corruption cases. He quit for what seemed a long-shot bid for governor.

Mr. Christie and Ms. Keshishian first crossed each other in June 2009, when the NJEA invited gubernatorial candidates to audition for its endorsement. Mr. Christie refused to attend. In a letter, he said he wasn't seeking the endorsement because it would "require promises…that will not be kept." The NJEA endorsed then-Gov. Jon Corzine, ran ads against Mr. Christie and worked phone banks on Election Day for the Democrat.


.After the Republican's victory, Ms. Keshishian sent a letter congratulating Mr. Christie and requested a meeting to "work together on our commonly shared goals." He didn't respond.

At his January inauguration, Mr. Christie called New Jersey schools "broken" and said they "have failed despite massive spending." The next month, he called for pension and benefits changes.

In his budget address March 16, Gov. Christie proposed $820 million in education budget cuts after $1 billion in federal stimulus money dried up. He then took direct aim at NJEA.

"The leaders of the union who represent teachers have used their political muscle to set up two classes of citizens in New Jersey: those who enjoy rich public benefits and those who pay for them." He said it was "unfair" for teachers to receive "4% to 5% salary increases every year, even when inflation is zero, paid for by citizens struggling to survive."

The union website disagrees, saying "the average salary increase over the past year has been approximately 2%."

Ms. Keshishian ordered up a series of counter-punches to the governor's charges. The NJEA shifted money from "Pride in Public Education" spots to 30-second ads critical of Mr. Christie. New Jersey's teacher of the year appeared in one. "Stop attacking teachers and education, and start funding our schools," she said.

On March 23, Gov. Christie, under pressure to make up an $11 billion budget shortfall, called on teachers to accept a pay freeze, and urged taxpayers to "vote down" school budgets that didn't include one. More than half did. He proposed teachers help pay for their lifetime health benefits by contributing 1.5% of their salary in premiums, and pushed through a law mandating that for all new teachers.

NJEA led its members and other community and labor groups in a rally, dubbed "Standing Up, Standing Together." About 35,000 members gathered at the state capitol in Trenton.

Gov. Christie spent the day at the Monmouth Park racetrack for a bill-signing. When asked about the gathering, he told reporters: "I'm here. They're there. Have a nice day."

New Jersey Senate president Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat who heads the state ironworkers' unions, said the rally backfired for the teachers union. "It may have made them feel better about themselves, but many of my constituents saw it as a message that the NJEA isn't going to change even if taxpayers have to suffer."

In April, Joe Coppola, president of the Bergen County Education Association, a county union chapter, emailed a memo to members with a closing prayer: "Dear Lord, this year you have taken away my favorite actor Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress Farrah Fawcett, my favorite singer Michael Jackson and my favorite salesman Billy Mays." He concluded: "I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor." The private memo became public.


Mr. Coppola didn't return a call for comment for this story.

Ms. Keshishian went to the Governor's office across the street April 13 to apologize in their first face-to-face meeting, she and the governor recall.

He demanded she fire Mr. Coppola. Ms. Keshishian said she couldn't, because he was elected locally, adding, "It's just a joke, albeit in poor taste, but not meant seriously."

Gov. Christie threw her out of the office. "But we have important issues to discuss," she countered.

"Not with you, I don't," he replied.

This summer, New Jersey prepared to apply for "Race to the Top" funds, a series of grants from the U.S. Department of Education made available through a competition between states. The NJEA worked with the governor's education commissioner Bret Schundler. When Mr. Christie found out that the application changed his priorities, he pulled the draft application and his education staff re-wrote several provisions without NJEA's endorsement. Because of an error in the revised form, New Jersey lost its bid for the funds, a $400 million mistake.

In recent legislative testimony, Mr. Schundler, whom the governor had fired, blamed Mr. Christie for forcing a last-minute change. "It was intolerable for him to be perceived as giving in to NJEA," Mr. Schundler said.

The teachers union rushed out close to $1 million in TV commercials to highlight the debacle. "Stop putting politics ahead of the children," the ads pronounced.

Mr. Christie in an interview said that Mr. Schundler is "simply making things up," but added, "I hired him so ultimately I'm responsible."

Mr. Christie moved on, snagging an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's television show to unveil a bipartisan plan to improve public schools in Newark. Along with Newark Mayor Mr. Booker and Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who donated $100 million to the effort, Mr. Christie got a glowing report from the talk-show diva.

His administration recently sounded out outgoing Washington, D.C., schools chief Michelle Rhee, who has shaken up the school system there, about becoming New Jersey education commissioner, according to knowledgeable people. She signalled she had other plans.

On Sept. 28, nine months after taking office, Mr. Christie unveiled his plan to revamp schools. He pushed for linking teachers' raises and job security to "teacher effectiveness and student performance," instead of the current system of rewarding seniority and advanced training. He called for an end to New Jersey's practice of awarding tenure after only three years.

Afterward, Ms. Keshishian, who slipped into a back row to watch, appeared on nine television newscasts, two radio shows and in several newspapers, to pan the governor's plan. She said he continues "defunding public schools and demonizing the people who work in them."

Ms. Keshishian noted Mr. Christie's appearances around the nation for GOP candidates and the buzz about him as a possible presidential candidate. "He wants to be the poster boy for the Republican agenda," she said.

Mr. Christie said he's not running for president in 2012, but didn't rule out a bid in 2016. "I may not get re-elected governor."

Write to Monica Langley at monica.langley@wsj.com

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