For your lazy Sunday afternoon viewing pleasure, 10 minutes with the GOP’s new rock star. Most of it’s devoted to his crusade to make Jersey’s budget sustainable but skip ahead to 6:30 for his take on immigration (he reiterates his support for a path to citizenship) and the stimulus (“short-term positive and we’re now feeling the negative”). JT even squeezes in a question about “Jersey Shore,” which Christie jokingly blames on transplanted New Yorkers. A fair point, I guess. There are no homegrown guidos in New Jersey, are there?

Interviewing this guy is a fitting note for Tapper to end on, as he’s always been respected by (most) conservatives for taking their concerns seriously. I might be mistaken but I believe this is the first time Christie’s had a platform on a premier Sunday show since becoming governor; it’s a nice introduction to his perspective for a national audience. Too bad that ABC chose Christiane Amanpour’s name recognition and self-conscious gravitas over Tapper’s less showy professionalism, but he’s made enough of a splash — including a ratings win over “Meet the Press” in the 25-to-54 demographic a few weeks ago — that he’s bound to be considered for a show of his own. Hasn’t NBC been running, er, “The Chris Matthews Show” after MTP for years now? Surely that’s a time slot ripe for the picking ratings-wise.

Update: Think you’ll be seeing this sort of evenhandedness from Amanpour?