I never expected him to be so smart. This almost assures his reelection.

I really like Christie. This is a smart move.

Because he is calling for a special election and won't combine it with the November general election it will cost taxpayers more, but ensures that he will have an overwhelming victory: he won't have to deal with and lose points because of a Dem (probably Cory Booker) at the top of the ticket for senate.

@ 3 - bingo. This gives him the best of both worlds. No backlash for appointing someone, no risk of having his margins shrunk.

On the other hand, won't this double-piss off his base? I mean, a) they don't get a Republican to fill the seat on an interim basis, and b) to the extent they can find a passable Republican (Christie Whitman?) to run in the special election, he won't try to buoy that Republican's prospects with his own popularity.

Republicans are already spewing their vile over Christie's decision. Dick Army, whose name is synonymous with the word slime, has already called his action "debilitating stupidity."

So people make fun of Christie's weight. Could it be that Christie is the only Republican who isn't a pig?

I can't judge the strategic merits of his decision, but I wonder if Gov. Christie could even find a Republican in New Jersey he wanted to send to Washington. Moderate Republicans - at least of the Republicans in public life - are pretty scarce and if he were to find one, wouldn't that person be slaughtered with money in the next primary?

He's not a favorite of mine, and I disagree with him on many issues, but he may help bring the Republican Party back to a saner platform. And that would help save this country.

@5) If the Republicans are spewing anything, they are probably spewing bile...

@5, indeed. I'm for any Republican who isn't a pig. At some point a Republican is going to get elected President again, and if it's Christie, it might not be quite as horrible.

@ 7 He is still pretty damn conservative even if not tea partier. If we have a GOP President give me Arnold, the last moderate Republican.

As someone who lives in New Jersey I really hate Christie. He has done more to push back medical cannabis than anyone else. He set the example for other states and their "we can't be like the west coast" medical laws. Not to mention his blocking and restricting the mmj laws we do face.

@6:

Oops. Typo. Thanks for your vigilance.