Mitt Romney is calling on the hot-headed, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., later this summer.
Hardball host Chris Matthews called Romney’s pick a “blunder bus” on Thursday, saying it was like “wheeling in the biggest, nastiest weapon on the boardwalk to blast and snarl at the president.”
“Romney’s not going to put the big guy on his ticket,” he said, insisting Christie would do the “nasty stuff” while Romney would pick a “pleasant, un-threatening fellow like Tim Pawlenty for the ticket. Christie now joins the tuba section.”
The short-tempered politician made headlines earlier this month after he was caught on a cell phone video launching a verbal assault on a man who criticized his education policy while vacationing in Seaside Heights.
“You’re a real big shot,” Christie yelled as he walked toward the man holding an ice cream cone. “You’re a real big shot, shooting your mouth off.”
David Corn of Mother Jones called Christie one of the “best sluggers” the GOP has, noting unlike Romney he can “talk like a real person” and what he says “doesn’t have to be translated into human.” John Brabender, a former Rick Santorum campaign manager said it showed the “Romney people are taking the gloves off and are fighting back.” Romney “doesn’t want to hang out with Christie,” said Matthews. “He just wants him out there doing the dirty work.”
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