The reviews are pouring in for Governor Chris Christie’s keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Last night. Political experts say the New Jersey Governor hit a home run that is sure to raise is already prominent profile. Democrats, as you would expect were far less impressed by Christie’s speech.

“He really showed all of the positive sides of him that we’ve come to know in New Jersey and he downplayed the negatives,” explains Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “He certainly was critical of President (Barack) Obama without being snarky (and) without calling him an idiot, but still made a clear distinction.”

Murray says Christie hammered away at two important themes for the GOP: that the Republican Party is the party of leadership and the party of ideas.

Murray says there may be one criticism of the address, “I think some folks in the Romney camp might’ve hoped that there would have been a little bit more Mitt Romney particularly towards the end.”

“Governor Christie, as he has done countless times, not only gave a powerful and riveting speech but proved once again why he is one of the Republican Party’s most effective leaders and communicators,” says New Jersey Republican State Committee chairman Samuel Raia. “This is exactly what New Jerseyans have been witnessing from day one – his tremendous ability to clearly and successfully lay out what the Republican Party stands for and how we plan to accomplish our goals. More than that, Governor Christie is a leader, and the nation saw tonight someone who is able to inspire both Republicans and Democrats to expect better from their elected officials.”

Democrats have a somewhat different view of Christie’s keynote.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney says, “Clearly the Governor’s speech, while nice, was not meant to present a platform of facts. Somewhere in all that vague language about leadership, he managed to leave out any mention of New Jersey’s 35 year high 9.8% unemployment rate. Nor did he bother to mention that more people are living in poverty now than before he came into office. Or that middle class families in New Jersey continue to struggle day in and day out while Governor Christie gives tax breaks to millionaires.”

Yesterday, before Christie delivered the address, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee predicted, “Christie will take the stage in Tampa to speak about his very favorite topic: himself. We all know that’s what his months of travel out of state for Republican candidates have been about- promoting himself on a national stage. Doesn’t this make you wonder- Why did they pick this guy to give the keynote?”

“For years, New Jersey was a frequent punch line for comedians and late night talk show hosts,” says Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick. “Governor Christie took center stage as a national leader representing the Garden State. He made the case to the nation that New Jersey has become a model of reform and leadership that the rest of the nation can follow.”


 


 

 

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