Governors Urge Presidential Candidates to Be More Candid about the 'Hard Truths'

Declaring that the politicians on the national stage are underestimating the American people in both parties, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called on all presidential candidates to be more candid with the voters, no matter how difficult the current climate in the country might be.

“They think you are unwilling to hear hard truths; they think you don’t recognize our country is in crisis and that means everyone is going to have to sacrifice,” said Christie.

The Garden State’s top politician took the stage at  in Lawrence Township on Sept. 22 alongside Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana in a public forum sponsored by Rider’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. 

“I think the president is in really bad shape and he’s going to have a hard time getting re-elected,” declared Daniels, 62, who just released a book titled “Keeping the Republic: Saving American by Trusting Americans.”

Daniels is serving his second term as Indiana’s governor and is widely considered a rising star in the Republican Party. Under President George W. Bush he served as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and he also served as senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

Christie revealed that he looked to Daniels as a role model, observing some of the successes Daniels has had in his home state during his two terms as governor. Aside from sharing the same party affiliation, Christie and Daniels agree on the idea of increasing the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare.

Both governors have declared emphatically that they are not interested in seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, but that does not mean that they’re taking off the gloves when it comes to urging current candidates to step up and take a stronger leadership role in dealing with the country’s problems.

“What this country is thirsting for more than anything else is someone of stature and ability to look them in the eye and tell them that this is where I want us to go,” Christie told the packed crowd in the university’s Bart Luedeke Center Theater.

One of the day’s most intriguing questions came from Michael Ward, a Rider University freshman, who graduated from public high school in Hazlet last spring. Given the controversy surrounding Christie’s past dealings with the state teachers’ union and the accompanying public negativity, he asked the governor what he would need to do to repair his relationship with teachers.

“People should know what the status of the relationship is,” said Christie, “and I shouldn’t pretend it’s okay if it’s not.”

 He received a round of applause when he went on to say that he is willing to repair a relationship that could be productive.

“My position regarding the teachers’ union has been the same from the time I got into the race until today. And that is when they are willing to come forward and become participants in meaningful reform that will improve especially urban educational opportunities for our kids, I will sit at the table with them any time. If they want to continue to pass on to me warmed-over protections of a failed status quo, they can continue to stand outside my office and look in the window.”

Ward said he was happy with the governor’s response on education. As for his unwillingness, for now, to step into the political ring as a presidential candidate, Ward said he understands but wouldn’t want to rule out the possibility for the future.

“Let’s see how his reforms work out here in New Jersey,” said Ward. “Let him fix New Jersey first and then let him run for president.”