CPAC Crowd Gives Christie Standing Ovation

Governor gets a little love from conservatives at convention
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 6, 2014 1:35 PM CST
CPAC Crowd Gives Christie Standing Ovation
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md., Thursday.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chris Christie got back in the national spotlight in a way he prefers today—as a featured speaker at the annual CPAC convention for conservatives. The New Jersey governor took particular aim at the media ("We've got to stop letting the media define who we are and what we stand for") and President Obama ("Man, that's leadership, isn't it?"), reports Politico. He also advised members of the GOP and the Tea Party that it's time to "start talking about what we're for and not what we're against."

The AP called it an "aggressive message," and Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post writes that he was back to his "pugnacious self," but the sentiment wasn't unanimous. Time says the "humbled" governor delivered an "uncharacteristically low-key message." Either way, the crowd seemed to warm up to Christie as he went along and rewarded him with a standing ovation at the end, writes Eliana Johnson at the National Review. Rubin sums up: "Christie is still an impressive speaker who knows how to hold a room’s attention. If he is no longer the GOP front-runner, neither can he be ignored in 2016." (More Chris Christie stories.)

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