That edge, the air of menace, is precisely what commends Christie to some of his backers. Many of these are very successful businessmen who are accustomed to being their own men, to saying what they want and respecting others who do the same. Ken Langone, a founder of Home Depot, is a key Christie backer and has virtually organized the draft-Christie movement. But Langone also thought Richard Grasso, the former president of the New York Stock Exchange, deserved a $140 million golden parachute. Langone is an awesome philanthropist — New York’s Langone Medical Center is a monument to his big heart — but he sometimes does not have his finger on the pulse of the people…

Chris Christie is a keenly intelligent man who has the smarts and confidence to attract really good people as aides. But he’s been governor for less than two years — one inexperienced politician per decade in the White House is enough — and already he has exhibited the “tells” of grandiosity and implacable certainty. Washington’s problem now is that too many politicians think they have a lock on the truth. The town oozes belligerence and pettiness. Those are qualities Christie has in abundance. American politics now is a china shop. The last thing it needs is a bull like Christie.