HANOVER, NH — Mitt Romney’s top campaign aides are a fairly discreet bunch, but it’s not an exaggeration to say they looked like the cat who ate the canary as they watched Romney unveil his campaign’s newest and biggest endorser, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
“Mitt Romney is the man we need to lead America, and we need him now,” Christie told reporters and supporters gathered in a small room at the Marriott Courtyard hotel. Romney, Christie continued, is “the best person to articulate Republican values and defeat Barack Obama in 2012.”
The Christie endorsement helps the already-strong Romney campaign in a number of ways. First, Christie is exceedingly popular in the party; before he announced last week that he would not run for president, some polls had him near Romney at the front of the pack. Second, some Republican Party insiders and donors have stayed out of the race because they had been hoping Christie would run. Now, with Christie’s endorsement, they’re likely to go with Romney. Finally, the endorsement adds to the impression of the Romney campaign as a well-oiled machine, always going forward, avoiding big mistakes while other candidates come and go.
All of which left Romney’s top command absolutely delighted. “He’s a tremendous campaigner, someone who can speak to a large swath of the party, a tremendous voice against Barack Obama,” said top Romney strategist Stuart Stevens of Christie. “He smart, he’s got a great following, and he’ll give good advice, too.”
The Christie endorsement had another effect, given that it came just hours before Romney and the rest of the field took the stage for the Dartmouth College debate. Before Romney’s announcement, most of the talk here in Hanover had been about Rick Perry. After two weak debate performances, would the Dartmouth debate be a make-or-break test for the Texas governor? After Romney’s announcement, all the talk was of the Christie endorsement. Romney turned the press narrative around in an instant.
That was part of the plan. Some observers wondered why Romney would roll out the Christie endorsement on the day of the debate. Even though it was good news for Romney, wouldn’t it distract from the debate itself? One adviser looked on as Romney and Christie talked to what was pretty much the entire national political press corps jammed into one room. “How are you going to get all these people in one place?” he asked. Romney’s big news was calculated for maximum exposure.
And with everyone watching, Christie immediately got to work defending Romney — and attacking Perry. Asked about the fundamentalist pastor who introduced Perry at last weekend’s Values Voter summit in Washington and later referred to Mormonism as a “cult,” Christie hit Perry hard. “Any campaign that associates itself with that type of conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States,” he said.
Christie also gave Romney some much-needed support on Romney’s main weakness, his universal health care plan in Massachusetts. Calling on his own experience as a governor, Christie supported Romney’s position that the program worked in Massachusetts but should not be the basis for a national plan. “Each state should make decisions about what works best for them,” Christie said.”
Finally, Christie issued a summation that managed to praise Romney, take an indirect shot at Perry, and still sound high-minded. “This is not someone who decided to run for president off the back of an envelope,” Christie said of Romney. Some candidates say, “‘I think I can win, I hope I’m ready,'” Christie continued. “Mitt Romney says, ‘I hope I can win, I know I’m ready.'” As supporters applauded, Romney’s team looked at each other and beamed.
