Same Song, Second Verse (A Little Bit Louder, A Little Bit Worse)

Once you get a reputation for being...difficult...on the campaign trail, the cycle only plays out one way.

Blood in the water.https://t.co/2phFMxRWZv

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 16, 2023

I'm old enough to remember when Chris Christie was the "front runner" for the GOP nomination.  And he wasn't "difficult" on the campaign trail.  He loved the media, and the media loved him.  Once in a while somebody would speak up to him in a public appearance and Christie would go "Jersey Shore" on their ass, and the press lapped it up as "authenticity."  He yelled at the press a few times, too, but nobody "important" so it was all fair in love and war, and his star was ever on the ascendency.

The CW now is:  "And then came Bridgegate."  But that just busted the honeymoon with the press.  Nobody outside New Jersey/NYC really gave a shit about, or understood the ramifications, of closing traffic lanes on a bridge.  Mostly it seemed stupid, and very regional, and even parochial.  No, "Bridgegate" didn't doom Christie's shot at the nomination.

Disinterest did.  The NYC punditocracy loved Christie because he loved to get in front of cameras or give print interviews and play the "Man Of The People" to people who thought America was New Jersey, just spread out to the borders of California (where everybody was a Ronald Reagan supporter or in Hollywood).  He wasn't, and nobody beyond the reach of the NYC Punditocracy (or CNN; I don't think FoxNews was a significant player than, but OCICBW), gave a wet snap for Christie, or even noticed him.  His anointing was entirely an East Coast Media Joint, and it went about as well with the general public as one of Spike Lee's more incendiary films (I like Spike's work, but he's no Spielberg, nor does he want to be.  National politicians usually need to be Spielberg, though.). In short, Christie was never a "leader" for the GOP POTUS nomination, except in the words of pundits most voters weren't really paying attention to.

And let's face it, a pol from Jersey has about as much national appeal built in as a Governor from Texas.  Or from Florida, for that matter.

DeSantis' support comes largely from having a GOP legislature, and running against a former GOP governor in his last election.  Does anybody outside Florida really want DeSantis running the country?  I'm not sure the majority of Florida does (again, OCICBW).  But especially this far out (forget Trump's "announcement," he was always going to run again.  His narcissistic ego wouldn't let him do otherwise.), DeSantis has about as much chance at the nomination as Nikki Haley; or a snowball in August in Texas.