“There are some Democrats who want to slow Christie down, and others who don’t want to slow Christie down,” said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf. “What [national Democrats are] thinking is, why get in front of a tank? The tank will do whatever it does, and we’ll still be here” when the next race starts.

The decision to leave Christie unchecked, whether intentional or by default, reflects how power in the Democratic Party has become decentralized as Obama approaches the final years of his term. The White House has little motivation to go after a potential GOP 2016 candidate, especially one who has played nice with the president.

The situation is comparable to how the GOP didn’t bother trying to rough up then-Sen. Hillary Clinton when she was running for reelection in 2006 — two years ahead of her expected 2008 national bid.

But there’s a key difference: Clinton was swimming with the tide as a popular Democrat in liberal New York. The same cannot be said of Christie.