CHRISTIE IN – AT 11:06 A.M. ET:  I don't know why, but Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey today enters the race for the Republican presidential nomination.  He's the 1,279th candidate in the race.  From The New York Times:

LIVINGSTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, whose dazzling rise as a national Republican in his first term was matched only by his spectacular loss of stature at home in his second, enters the 2016 presidential race on Tuesday morning bearing little resemblance to the candidate he once expected to be.

The economic recovery he promised has turned into a cascade of ugly credit downgrades and anemic job growth. The state pension he vowed to fix has descended into a morass of missed payments and lawsuits. The administration he pledged would be a paragon of ethics has instead conspired to mire an entire town in traffic and the governor’s office in scandal.

Just three and a half years ago, Mr. Christie seemed so popular, compelling and formidable, such an antidote to all that ailed the Republican brand, that senior figures in the party pleaded with him to run for president as a substitute for their eventual nominee, Mitt Romney.

But today, a staggering 55 percent of Republican primary voters say that they cannot envision voting for Mr. Christie, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll, a remarkable deficit from which to embark on a national campaign. The only candidate less palatable: Donald J. Trump, the bombastic developer-turned-reality television star.

COMMENT:  Well, okay, that's a New York Times story, and no GOP candidate can find much love at The Times.  But, bottom line, it's not wrong.

Christie is in a poor position.  He's not a fresh face any longer, has no experience in foreign policy, and he's losing popularity at home.  He faces a GOP field of far more attractive candidates.  I suspect he's getting in because he knows there'll never be another chance.

June 30, 2015