by Mark Rhoads
Like many other people, I admire Gov. Chris Christie for his feisty and no-nonsense approach to state-government finances, and for the courage and chutzpah he has shown in dealing with public-employee unions in New Jersey. But after only 21 months on the job in Trenton, he would be wise to delay any run for higher office until some future year when he has a more established record and a deeper national base of supporters.
The problem is that President Obama set the bar of experience expectations very low when he ran for the highest office in 2008, after only about 46 months in office as a back-bench and mostly absentee junior U.S. Senator from Illinois. But both Christie and the nation should set the bar of credentials higher again in order to avoid a pattern of electing presidents with little or no administrative experience. Christie's previous experience as a U.S. Attorney was an adequate enough gateway to run for governor, but is not relevant enough now to seek the top office in the nation.
