IS CHRISTIE IN? – AT 10:48 A.M. ET:  Remember Chris Christie?  He's the governor of New Jersey, and was, until recently, a hot presidential contender on the Republican side.  Then he ran into a minor scandal called Bridgegate, the details of which are too boring to repeat.  But that, and serious budget problems in New Jersey, have thrown Christie off.  He's not mentioned as much for the presidency any longer...but he seems to be trying a comeback.  He's just delivered a hard-hitting and very good speech on foreign policy that is reviving talk of a presidential bid.  From The Hill: 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) delivered a harsh indictment of President Obama's foreign policy on Sunday, saying that a “lack of American leadership” had disappointed allies and emboldened the country’s enemies.

"The rest of the world watches in desperation and hope that America will realize and act upon once again its indispensable place in the world," Christie said Sunday at the Champions of Jewish Values International awards gala in New York, according to the Associated Press. "We must lead."

The New Jersey governor said it was "unthinkable" that the United States had retreated from an active foreign policy and allowed adversaries to go unchecked.

“We see Russian activism once again rearing its head in the world, we see an America that backed away from a commitment made by the president of the United States in Syria, we see a country, our country, permitting even a thought of a terrorist state like Iran having nuclear capability,” Christie said.

“It's unthinkable that the America that has led in the way that it has always led this world would permit that to happen,” he continued. “Yet we are sitting in a world, we are watching the vacuum that the lack of American leadership has created being filled and it is almost never filled by virtue, it is almost always filled by evil.”

He added that sometimes standing up for American values would require "sacrifice."

"We need to stand once again loudly for these values, and sometimes that is going to mean standing in some very messy, difficult places and standing strong and hard for those things that we believe in," Christie said, according to CNN. "And it will mean sacrifice from the people of our country."

For Christie, a potential 2016 presidential contender, the appearance was a chance to address doubts about his foreign policy prowess.

COMMENT:  A fine speech, and vintage Christie.  The question, though, is how badly Christie has been damaged by local scandal.  Another question involves his image as a bit of a bully.

If he can deliver good speeches on foreign policy, and get past the scandal problem – minor by most political standards – he might regain his momentum.  But he hasn't got much time before the 2016 race starts.

May 19, 2014