By David Cruz
Correspondent
Without the Trumpian bluster of past debates to heat things up, this seventh contest had to rely on the oratorial sizzle of Ted Cruz.
“I’m a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly, and Ben you’re a terrible surgeon,” joked Cruz awkwardly. “Now that we’ve gotten the Donald Trump portion out of the way.”
But seriously, folks. With now seven candidates on stage, there was room — and incentive — for them to draw a contrast between themselves and their perceived nearest opponent.https://www.njspotlightnews.org/news/wp-admin/post.php?post=49912&action=edit
Rubio versus Bush. Cruz versus Rubio. Paul versus Cruz. Snarky, cheeky and politically pointed, and none of it aimed at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Even a freebie tossed up to Rubio by co-moderator Chris Wallace was basically ignored.
But you shouldn’t think that the loquacious chief executive from the Garden State spent the night just watching. Christie took every opportunity to make sharp — on time and on budget — statements, often having little to do with the question he was asked and more to do with what he says is his unique status as a governor, not a senator.
“I have made the decisions that need to be made as a governor to protect us and as president of the United States, no one will keep this country safer than I will,” boasted Christie.
This was the most screen time for Christie than he got at any of the other main stage debates, and with less than two weeks to go before the first ballots are cast in New Hampshire — which is where Christie will have his best shot to win, place or show — the governor tried to show that he’s a conservative who knows how to build consensus.
“There is no reason why you can’t stand for principles, go and fight for them, and be able also to have to get things done in government,” Christie said later after a question about bipartisanship. “What people are frustrated about in Washington D.C. And I know the folks out there tonight are incredibly frustrated because what they see is a government that doesn’t work for them.”
Even a shot at his Achilles heel — the GWB lane closure scandal — was turned into a pitch for Christie.
“Can the GOP take the chance of nominating you with this scandal still out there?” asked Wallace.
“Sure,” replied Christie, “because there’s been three separate investigations that have proven that I knew nothing and the fact is that what I did do is that as soon as I found about it, I fired the people responsible and that’s what you expect from a leader. And I’ll tell you something else, I inherited a state in New Jersey that was downtrodden and beaten by liberal Democratic policies, high taxation, high regulation and this year in 2015, New Jersey has had the best year of job growth that our state has ever had in the last 15 years.”
And, as a capper on what most considered a pretty good night for Christie, the governor delivered the sound bite that has gotten the most traction on social media and talk TV today.
“I feel like I need a Washington to English dictionary converter,” joked Christie in reference to an exchange between rivals Rubio and Cruz. “I mean I heard what they both said. I saw it on the video and the fact is that this is what makes a difference when you’re a governor, you can change your mind, Ted could change his mind, Marco could change his. It’s perfectly legal in this country to change your mind, but when you’re a governor you have to admit it. You can’t hide behind parliamentary tricks. That’s the difference and that’s the kind of leader we need in the White House. Stop the Washington bull and let’s get things done.”
This was Christie’s final opportunity to be seen on the big stage. Starting Monday, the first votes will be cast and we’ll begin to see whether the governor’s path is pointing to the White House or just back to the State House.