Quotes from an analysis of NJ Governor Chris Christie in The American Conservative

"The 2009 election was a referendum on the Corzine administration," says longtime New Jersey Republican consultant George Ajjan. "There was frustration during the campaign that [Chris Christie] wasn’t being aggressive enough in laying out a plan."

"He came out of the box swinging pretty hard," Ajjan says. "A lot of people who were underwhelmed were very quickly put on board."