Why does the "Draft Christie" movement persist?

What’s interesting about the Christie-for-president thing is it doesn’t go away, even after months of Shermanesque announcements that he isn’t ready and doesn’t want it. Why would that be? In part it’s that he says “no” with charm and deep cleverness. He could say, “I’ve only been governor for 16 months, I don’t have anything remotely like the level of experience needed at a time like this.” But he doesn’t, quite. And it’s possible he just thinks President Obama’s going to win and doesn’t want to be the guy who loses to him.

What I suspect people like most about him, apart from policy, is what they liked about Tim Russert: He was normal. A lot of people at this point in history think only the abnormal run for president. Only the abnormal want their finger on the button or want responsibility for epic economic decisions. Or maybe people think only weirdos and dullards want it—weirdos because they like the heightened nature of everything about the presidency, dullards because they don’t fully understand what they’re getting into. The fact that Mr. Christie says he doesn’t want it marks him as normal, which makes people want him more. He can give as many Shermanesque statements as he likes, but if the field continues to look thin he’s going to face a draft-Christie movement.