In New Hampshire, Chris Christie Hugs Reagan’s Leadership Legacy

During a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pointed to former President Ronald Reagan as his model for leadership.

Christie explained to voters that he was proud of his first vote, which was for Reagan in 1980. He reminded the audience, however, that it is important for Republicans to remember exactly what kind of leader he was.

“The other thing – now that we’re thirty-five years away from Reagan’s election – that we need to remember is that Ronald Reagan was a great compromiser, too,” he said. Christie reminded the audience that, even though the former California governor was principled, he would still compromise with Democrats such as Tip O’Neill in Congress.

“He’s a principled man, but, he also knew that governing was about compromising, too,” Christie said.

Christie suggested that perhaps Republicans forget about Reagan’s legacy of working across the aisle to get things done.

“Reagan didn’t always get everything he wanted. We fantasize about that now thirty-five years later,” he said. “But, the truth is, that Ronald Reagan knew when to hold ’em and he knew when to fold ’em.”

Of course, something similar is happening on the left. Americans are tired of President Obama’s rigid ideology, Christie suggested, and are looking someone who is willing to be open minded.

“That’s the kind of government we’ve been missing because we have a president who, by the way, I think believes he’s so smart that no one is worth listening to because he already has all the answers,” he said.