RUSH: Megyn Kelly last night interviewed New Jersey governor Chris Christie. She asked him three times to explain his embrace of Obama after Hurricane Sandy. Three times. She was relentless in this. The first time she said, “One thing that appeared to have hurt you with some in the Republican base is what people unaffectionate-ly refer to as your bear hug of President Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Some people on the right in particular felt betrayed by that; they felt that you hurt Mitt Romney a week before the election in what appeared at that time to be a very tight race. Did you?”
CHRISTIE: No. And the best source for that information is not me; it’s Mitt Romney. And I’ve seen him publicly say over and over again that it had absolutely no effect or role in the race, either subjectively for the way he felt or objectively for the way their polls looked at the time. So the answer is no. Secondly, the other thing Mitt Romney said to me at the time was, “You’re doing your job. Go do your job as best you can. I’ve had that job.”
RUSH: Meaning, “Governor, you gotta fix your state. Go fix it. Do your job. I’ve had that job. You’re doing a great thing. You haven’t hurt me at all. I love you, Chris, keep going.” Okay, so that’s one thing. Next question: “Governor Romney was gracious about it but that doesn’t necessarily mean the voters will be.
“Because there are a lot of people out there who felt that you were too effusive in your praise of the man who wanted to hold onto the White House when a lot of Republicans and independents and others didn’t want him to. To those voters who still are holding a grudge against you, what do you say?”
CHRISTIE: First of all, there was not one person, with possible exception of Paul Ryan, in America who worked harder for Mitt Romney. I was the first governor to come out and endorse him in the fall of 2011. I traveled to 26 states for him. Some people have, who you’re referring to, have a very short memory. Fortunately Mitt Romney doesn’t and the fair people don’t. When that crisis hit, I was asked, “Has the president been responsive? Has the president been there to help your people?” And my answer was yes. And, Megyn, if I had to do it again I would say exactly the same thing ’cause was it the honest answer.
RUSH: So she asks again. She says, “They didn’t want you to have such a smile on your face when you did it.”
CHRISTIE: If anybody saw me smiling during Hurricane Sandy they weren’t looking at the right pictures. These are the ABCs of me. You ask me a question, I’m gonna give you an honest answer. Some days it may serve your political purpose, and some days it might not. But in the end, the comfort you should take from it is I’m not changing as the wind blows. I say what I think and I think thatÂ’s what people should take cover from. And those critics, I think many of them, at least in my interaction, are kind of over that.
RUSH: Okay, so it’s not a big deal anymore. The arm-in-arm stroll with Obama on the boardwalk, figuratively speaking, after Hurricane Sandy, no big deal, one week before the election. People have gotten over it, they’ve forgotten it, and they’re over it. She went at him three different times on that.
Have you heard that Jeb Bush seriously now considering the Republican nomination because of Bridgegate? Bridgegate and this. Jeb Bush is thinking — (interruption) Well, I know, some of the establishment types. I just have — you know me — one little question here, just one. It’s just me. Why is the era of Reagan over but the era of Bush doesn’t seem to ever be over?