Mr. Vice President

"I now introduce to you the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, the governor of the State of New Jersey, Chris Christie".

When those words are uttered in the summer of 2012, don't act surprised.

Christie has advised that he is not chasing a Presidential bid because he has an unfinished job in his home state and he does not want to spend so much time away from his family. By next summer he will announce that he has made sufficient progress in New Jersey that he can move on. Further, the campaign from summer to fall on the lower part of the Republican ticket will require much less absence from home than the 13 month slog he would now face if he threw his hat into the ring.

The Republicans will not commit another Palin-esque disaster next year.. Christie has positioned himself as a kind of super-hero by staying out of the fray for now. There will be a renewed frenzy to enlist him for service in 2012.

Further, if Christie were, at 50 years of age, to become Vice President, he would set himself up for a Presidential run in 2020 while still under 60. Even were the Republicans to lose in 2012, he would undoubtedly become the standard bearer for the party with a significant likelihood of ascending to the role of Republican candidate for President in 2016.

Despite present protests by Christie to the contrary, despite his assertions that his personality and the number 2 spot on the ticket are an ill fit, the governor of New Jersey has short term aspirations far beyond the Garden State. And so, when a smiling and waving Christie walks on to that stage, with his family in tow and his ego as his constant companion, don't act surprised.