After a heartfelt moment of silence for victims of "the extraordinary tragedy in Tucson," Christie took a while to find his groove. The early sections about taxes and spending caps verged on rote, and the applause seemed perfunctory.
From the back of the room, I wondered whether Christie's Jersey-licious style was losing its impact; maybe the exciting contrast between the governor and his pallid predecessor is fading.
After all, it's almost impossible to picture Jon Corzine as a YouTube sensation. Christie plays particularly well in part because viewers prefer their Jersey supersized. Like Snooki.
The reality star has no substance, unless you count makeup. But the governor has surely "changed the debate in Trenton," as he told the audience in the Capitol.
When Christie speaks, people tend to listen. Even if they don't want to hear it, they don't whisper or text - because the man really does seem to mean what he says.
"Next month, I will present to you my budget," Christie proclaimed. "I will guarantee you this: It will be balanced, and it will not raise taxes."
The speech was full of such declarations, and a few platitudes, too ("what's at stake is our future" - as if Christie and the Democrats were battling about 1950s New Jersey).
The positive was accentuated; the snow, either recent or predicted, was not mentioned, and neither was the name Bret Schundler. Christie made only a glancing reference to his controversial cancellation of state support for a rail tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan, and his overall tone was conversational rather than confrontational.
Often criticized for aggressiveness that borders on belligerence, Christie instead deployed wry eyebrows and a bit of self-deprecating humor. When he dials back the bullying, the man can be charming.
