The Day Chris Christie Lost His Presidential Bid

Jerry Jones (left) and Chris Christie
at yesterday's Cowboys-Eagles game in Philadephia
(Image: cbssports.com)

One had the hope that New Jersey governor Chris Christie would abandon thoughts of running for the land's highest office. The Soprano state's caudillo didn't seem to project global gravitas. Severe doubts about how his bellicosity would play with, say, Vladimir Putin, suggested that surely the Republican Party could do better than the Man from Mendham. A little over a year ago, some of Christie's senior operatives, a number of whom came from the Rudy Giuliani camp, embarked on the act of political thuggery known as "Bridgegate." Once the governor's aides' shameless hardball actions were outed, Christie's star dimmed. However, a rehabilitation campaign skillfully denied the governor's culpability while quietly reassuring Christie's backers that the opera would not end until the fat man sings.

Thus, Chris Christie has again emerged as a presidential player. I think he blew his chances yesterday, when he attended a Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game in The City of Brotherly Love. The governor sat in a luxury box with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, openly rooting for the Texas team. Well, them's figthtin' words in Philly. For Philadelphia fans, and many others throughout the nation, the distaste and visceral contempt for the Cowboys runs deep. If you support Dallas, well you've just lost those fans' votes. And yes, many of them are white males, the core GOP constituency.

An argument could be made that the Cowboys have a strong, vocal national following, and they vote, too. Just don't offer that proposition in the Northeast, Wisconsin, or both Washingtons, during what promises to be a rough GOP presidential primary in 2016. Football fans have long memories, and loyalties to their teams. Would voters choose another candidate other than Citizen Christie on the basis of a pro football preference?

As Sarah Palin said (remember her?), "You betcha."