(Newser)
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Had Chris Christie joined Mitt Romney's ticket, he would have had to quit as New Jersey governor—and he just didn't have the confidence in a GOP victory to justify that sacrifice, reports the New York Post in an exclusive. Christie "felt, at one point, that (President) Obama could lose this," an insider tells the Post. "But he knows, right now, you have to say it’s unlikely." Why the change? The Post says Christie was none-too-pleased with Romney's gaffe-studded international tour and his refusal to release more tax information.
The Post explains that Christie's presence on the ticket would have limited donations from Wall Street, thanks to two SEC rules. Among them, when a governor is seeking federal office, restrictions limit donations from execs whose banks work with that state, which would have hampered donations from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citibank bigwigs. The governor's aides reportedly tried to find ways around the rules, to no avail. And "Christie refused to resign under any circumstances," says a Romney insider. "It had nothing to do with Chris’ personality and everything to do with money."
