Fast forward the tape to 2011. As donors are meeting with Chris Christie, urging him to run, I asked former Mayor Riordan if he sees any of himself in the New Jersey governor. But before I could get the words out of my mouth, Riordan jumped in, “Absolutely! I just wish I had his personality. I like him. He really tells it like it is.”

The Obama coalition looks an awful lot like the old Bradley Coalition. And included Mayor Riordan, who broke ranks with the GOP to support President Obama in 2008. Is Gov. Christie capable of breaking the machine, the same way Riordan did in 1993?

Riordan says consider it broken. “Christie can beat Obama because the people want someone who can manage the country. Obama has totally disappointed me.”

It sounds to me like he’s suggesting that Chris Christie is tough enough to turn the country around.

Can somebody please get Bill Wardlaw on the phone?