One person who thinks that the crew has learned from the first time around is Rudy Giuliani.

“Yes, of course they have,” he told The Daily Beast. “If I were to run again, which I am not, I would be a lot better candidate for president than I was the first time I did it. The people around you have been through something like that; it is a great advantage to him.”

People close to Christie pointed out that the governor has another huge advantage over Hizzoner: He is actually a conservative. Sure, he may not be a right-winger of the guns, gays, and God type, but he is pro-life, anti-gay marriage, cut taxes and spending, and is close to the mainstream of the party on immigration.

Giuliani was to the left of his party on all of those, including signing one of the first domestic-partnership bills in the country. Even now, he says the immigration-reform bill going through Congress does not go far enough.

“I am pro-choice, and that is almost a disqualification,” he said. “Christie is pro-life. I don’t think Democrats understand the Republican primary process. The reality is that being pro-life immediately gets him off the disqualification list. That is entry test No. 1. If you don’t pass that, you don’t get to any of the others. For people who are pro-life, it is a life and death issue, that’s the way they see it.”