We need a palate cleanser today, and if our Top 50 posts from 2010 give any indication, Chris Christie’s the man to deliver it. The governor of New Jersey appeared on Fox & Friends this morning to discuss Christie’s success in balancing the state budget while cutting taxes and maintaining services. The acid test of that approach came during Snowmageddon, and unlike his counterparts across the river, Christie’s team kept the roads clear — even if Christie didn’t “ride a snowplow” himself. Christie has a response to Rudy Giuliani’s criticism of his vacation at the very beginning:

Has Christie set a national example on fighting the unions, as the hosts suggest? I agree with Christie; there really is little choice at the state level, especially in California, one of the examples used. There is no other way to solve the budget catastrophes facing the states without squaring off against the public-sector unions and their bloated pension obligations. Fox fails to mention another Democrat who appears ready to fight the unions, Andrew Cuomo in New York, although at the moment those indications still look like trial balloons. But Christie is also correct that he has proven that taking on those unions doesn’t result in political collapse, which will certainly embolden other executives.