New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could be forgiven if he had chips on both shoulders as big as those shoulders. This year, the first of his second term, has been overshadowed by often partisan investigations, more protracted than productive, of the involvement of several of his former aides — he fired them — in the closing of some access lanes to the George Washington Bridge.
Nevertheless, Christie today radiates serenity. His critics, including many Hillary Clinton enthusiasts, hoped the last 12 months would be for him a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. He has, however, thrived.
He won two elections last November. One was for a second term as governor, in which he received 60 percent of the vote, including 57 percent of women, 51 percent of Hispanics and 21 percent of African-Americans. The other election — which was, in its way, harder fought; his rivals included other potential presidential aspirants — was to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
In this capacity, Christie has been crisscrossing the country, campaigning for and distributing contributions to Republican gubernatorial candidates. And campaigning for other Republicans. He carried over into this year $50 million the RGA had in its coffers; he has presided over the raising of at least another $50 million; by Nov. 4 he will have perhaps raised upward of another $10 million. By then he will have been in more than 30 states in 11 months.