Something interesting happened during the Republican convention. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey took to the podium, ostensibly to help make the GOP case against Obama and help elect Romney. He had a funny way of helping though.
CHRISTIE: "Mitt Romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to end the torrent of debt that is compromising our future and burying our economy...Tonight, our duty is to tell the American people the truth. Our problems are big and the solutions will not be painless. We all must share in the sacrifice. Any leader that tells us differently is simply not telling the truth."
I think Christie knows very well that Mitt Romney can't do that. Even a very courageous politician would hesitate to come forward with a real budget that could completely remove the deficit in a decade, which is what Romney promised. The reality is, that this much money can't be cut without removing basic programs that most of the country feels are vital.
And frankly, Romney is hardly a courageous politician. He has never been willing to speak hard truths. If he does as Christie said he should, he will lose the election, as he may anyway.
By bringing up the matter so bluntly, he actually makes it even more difficult for Romney to duck the question, which is what he wanted to do.
Christie was in fact, not helping Romney, he was helping himself. He has long been considered for a run on the Presidency, but he probably thinks he'd lose at this time. In four more years, his position may be stronger. Were Romney to win, he might not have an option to run in 4 years.
On the other hand, if he bravely steps forward and says that the nominee should come up with a hard, realistic budget, he sets himself up in the position of being an honest politician. Four years from now he could stage all of our problems as being a result of electing Obama who failed to make the tough decisions. Enter Christie, whose entire persona works for a hard guy who will speak hard truths, and so on.
That's how I see it.