Is Chris Christie 'More Than Ready' To Be Vice President?

Glenn Beck, the founder of this website, described New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as a peddler of "common sense porn" in 2010, and demanded "a little Chris Christie common sense porn every day" in the same segment:

Now Christie is quickly rocketing up the short list of potential Veep nominees for presumptive GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney - so much so that National Review has a piece out today suggesting that Christie would practically leap on the opportunity if it was offered. NR reporter Bob Costa writes (emphasis added):

“The [vice-presidential] attention is well deserved,” says Nicholas F. Brady, a former United States senator from New Jersey and secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. “Maybe some would be turned off by his direct approach, but I think people appreciate it. They like it when someone tells it like it is.”

One of Christie’s mentors, former governor Tom Kean, tells National Review Onlinethat Christie did not feel ready to run for president last summer, but with regard to the number-two spot, he’s more than prepared. And with President Obama running a Chicago-style brass-knuckles campaign, Kean says, Christie’s tenacious personality would surely be an asset during the general election.[...]

Part of the reason for this continued success, Governor Kean says, is due to Christie’s broadening of his message in policy speeches at the Reagan Library and a Bush Institute event. As Kean sees it, Christie has become much more than a town-hall performer; he’s a viable vice president because of his principles and how he articulates them.

“If the Romney people are smart, and they are, they’ll give him a major speaking role at the convention,” Kean says. If it’s as a surrogate, that’s fine, he says, but as Romney’s running mate? In New Jersey, at least, the idea is gaining steam.

"More than ready." Those are strong words to say about a position as powerful as Vice President of the United States.

Now, to be sure, as a potential nominee, Christie has problems. Both he and Romney are from Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern states, neither one of which looks seriously in contention for the Republicans come November. It's also worth noting that some conservatives are dissatisfied with Christie's performance as Governor, claiming that despite his tough talk to teachers' unions, the Governor's judicial and cabinet appointments tell a more moderate story. So while Christie might represent a different tonal approach to Romney, his political positions might not look all that different.

At the same time, this might not be an entirely bad thing - as Vice President, Christie would lack the institutional power to have a spine stiffening effect on Romney the same way that, say, a Secretary of State John Bolton, or an Attorney General Robert Bork, or a Secretary of the Treasury Paul Ryan could. In the role of a down-ticket attack dog, Christie could well be in his element.

What do you think? Weigh in below.