>>>
now to politics and the
2012
presidential race
. last night new jersey's republican governor
chris christie
had a chance to end all speculation that he's reconsidering a run for the
white house
, but in some ways he managed to fan the flames even a little bit more. nbc's chief
white house
correspondent
chuck todd
is in washington. chuck, take me through it.
>>
well, let's go back to
1991
, then new york governor mario cue w cuomo left a plane on the tarmac before deciding whether to run or not. for
chris christie
, he appeared to be definitive about not running and left those hoping he'll change his mind something to cling to.
>>
can you tell us what's going on here? are you considering or are you standing firm?
>> reporter:
it's the question on everyone's mind, and
chris christie
had some fun with it. poking fun at his audience, because it was the second question asked.
>>
you folks are an incredible disappointment as an audience. [ laughter ] the fact that that took to second question --
>> reporter:
with speculation at a near frenzy, tough-talking new jersey governor
chris christie
got a bit cute in his latest attempt to deny interest in running for president.
>>
everyone go to politico.com, it's on the
front page
, i'm not going to bore you with it now. click on it, those are the answers. no way. not going to happen. i'm not running. i'm 100% certain i'm not going to run. christ
>> reporter:
at the
reagan library
a speech?i sounded like he was presenting his case for the presidency.
>>
we have watched as we drift from conflict to conflict with little or no resolution. we watch a president who once talked about the courage of his convictions?@cut still has yet found the courage to lead. we watch a kcongress at war with itself because they're unwilling to leave campaign style politics at the door.
>> reporter:
the audience would not take no for an answer.
>>
i mean this with all my heart, we can't wait another four years to
2016
. we need you. your country needs you to run for president.
>>
i hear exactly what you're saying and i feel the passion with which you say it, and it touches me. fact of the matter is, that anybody who has an ego large enough to say oh, please, please, please stop asking me to be
leader of the free world
-- [ laughter ] it's such a burden. if you could please just stop. it's extraordinarily flattering but by the same token, that heartfelt message you gave me is also not a reason for me to do it. that reason has to reside inside me, and so that's what i've said all along. my answer to you is just this. i thank you for what you're saying, and i take it in and i'm listening to every word of it and feeling it, too.
>>
so here's where things stand, matt. i'm told by someone close to the governor we should definitely interpret those last remarks as the governor giving a candidacy serious reconsideration. the reality is, though, they only have about two weeks before the first deadlines to get on actual primary ballots staring them in the face, couldn't come at a worst time for republicans actually running trying to raise money because everything is now frozen.
>>
chuck todd
in washington this morning, thank you very much.
>>>
nbc's
tom brokaw
is here with his take on the state of the
presidential race
. good morning. wow he's good. when you listen to the way
chris christie
answers those questions, when you hear it coming from the heart, it sounds spontaneous, he's funny and charming. is that why people like this guy so much?
>>
he's not an ideologue. a heavy set guy with a new
jersey accent
. a lot of this started last summer, not an advertisement for myself, i interviewed him at a conference in
sun valley
, all off the record and i've rarely seen a candidate light up a room which included a lot of democrats and it was because he was candid and self-depricating and played outside of the lines of the
republican party
.
>>
a lot of people talk about how charming and spontaneous he is but according to articles in the past week a lot of conservative republicans loving the fact he's a
fiscal conservative
perhaps aren't going to like his stand on other issues like immigration, gun control and
education reform
. have they taken a close enough look at this guy in.
>>
i do think that is an issue. the question is who is going to run the
republican primaries
? right now, the dialogue is being dominated by the
tea party
but there are a lot of other republicans who say we've got to play outside of the
tea party
playbook and this is a guy who can do that.
>>
chuck brings up an interesting point at the end of his. piece, what would it be like to be one of the declared republican candidates now, a
mitt romney
,
rick perry
, or
ron paul
, you pick it, and hear this constant deafening
drum beat
for
someone else
to run?
>>
you know, this has been going on all summer long before perry got in, there was the same
drum beat
, how can we get him in, then he loses the florida
straw poll
to
herman cain
and a lot of people were having doubts about his ability to handle himself in a lot of positions he's taking. this is not unusual at this stage. four years ago, we had
hillary clinton
way out in front of
barack obama
, but he was coming up fast on the
inside track
. we're in what i call the pre-
super bowl
scrum at the moment.
>>
and
rudy giuliani
was the front-runner,
john mccain
who eventually got the nomination was this third.
david axelrod
has said the president is facing a "titanic struggle" to get reelected in the face of this economy. is he stating the facts or trying to make
barack obama
an underdog?
>>
no, i think he's stating the facts. i was in another seminar over the weekend and we all agreed the referendum next year will be on
barack obama
and the issue of jobs and the economy. it's not getting better at a pace everyone expected it to. a lot of people are worried about a real double dip and what's going on globally and it all comes down to the desk in the
oval office
when you go into an election after you've been in office for four years so he's got a very tough road ahead of him, matt.
>>
tom brokaw
good to see.
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