Is Chris Christie's fall imminent?

We live in a nation filled with people who demand perfection — from everyone else. Count me among them. I want my food hot and my beer cold. And I want them both now. My internet better work all the time. And most importantly, I want my government run by compassionate geniuses.

Needless to say, my food isn’t always warm. My beer isn’t always cold. My internet is sometimes spotty and in government, I would settle for anyone who has a clue and a soul.

I thought Chris Christie was that guy.

The embattled governor of New Jersey has been my favorite politician for quite some time now. I found his candor and his courage refreshing. He said what he meant. He did what he said. He didn’t care if you liked him. He was the guy most guys wish they could be.

Today, though, I’m a little unsure about his alleged candor. Bridge-gate and Superstorm-Sandy-relief-funds-gate (doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue, does it?) have me wondering. Maybe it’s blind faith, but I was willing to believe he had nothing to do with the “traffic study” performed at the George Washington Bridge. Sometimes political aides do things without their bosses’ knowledge. It happens. Once you add in the flap over storm recovery funds for Hoboken, it starts to paint a picture that really disturbs me.

I’ve never been fond of New Jersey. To me it’s always been a cesspool where people live only because the rent in New York is too high. Then it was home of the Sopranos, the TV show about a crime boss and his family. After that, it was most notable for Jersey Shore, a reality TV show based on a bunch of idiots doing stupid stuff.

But Chris Christie was above all that. He wasn’t polluted. He wasn’t a crime boss. And he wasn’t an idiot. I thought. Again, now I’m not so sure. And if I’m not sure, you can bet that there are other Christie supporters who are disillusioned, too.

In fact, a Rutgers-Eagleton poll published in Thursday’s Washington Post shows that his favorability rating has dropped below 50 percent for the first time since September 2012. Only a month ago, it was 65 percent.

The last politician I genuinely liked was Howard Dean, for many of the same reasons I like(d) Christie. Dean’s opinions were from his soul, not handed down to him by party bosses. He said what he thought and he did what he said. He was done in by a scream one night in January of 2004, after losing the Iowa caucus to eventual Democratic presidential nominee John (Milquetoast) Kerry.

If Dean can fall from grace over a scream, why wouldn’t Christie suffer the same consequences over a series of scandals?

What bothers me most is that without Chris Christie, I’m once again a man without a candidate — just like in 2012, 2008 and, after Dean’s demise, 2004. Heck, actually the last candidate that I believed in who had a chance of winning was Bill Clinton. Those were the days.

I never thought Chris Christie was perfect, mind you. I just thought he was better than what he appears to be now.

Scott Leffler demands perfection. Or at least hot food and cold beer, both of which he tweets about sometimes using his Twitter handle, @scottleffler.

Can the GOP please flip the ticket?

I was a bit confused that Mitt Romney announced (via leak) his new running mate late Friday night. It was as though he didn’t want anyone to know. Friday night is when government types release data they want to hide — not when they announce their running mate for the road to the White House.

The official announcement was no better — a Saturday morning on the penultimate day of the 2012 Summer Olympics — when anyone who might actually be watching TV was most likely watching America win at life. If you wanted to watch the Olympics and it got pre-empted by politicians, would you be more or less inclined to vote for them?

My favorite Mark Twain impersonator and TV meteorologist, Mike Randall, suggested to me via Twitter that maybe the plan was “designed to take over the Sunday news shows.” Maybe he’s right, but I don’t tend to think of “real” people as watching those shows. And really, it’s real people that Romney needs to win over.

That leads me to believe that either Romney is embarrassed by his new running mate … or he’s just really bad at this whole “running for president” thing. Considering he introduced his selection as “the next president of the United States,” I’m inclined to think it’s the latter, which is exactly why I’m excited he’s added Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to the ticket as his VP candidate.

I’m not a huge fan of Ryan’s fundamental principles, but at least I’m aware of the fact that he has fundamental principles, unlike Romney. Oddly, though, Romney announced his disagrees with the thing Ryan is most known for — his budget plan — which conservatives love and liberals hate.

In other words, Romney tried to buy some conservative credibility by partnering up with Ryan, while distancing himself from the thing which would help the most in that aspect. Put another way, Romney wants to ride Ryan’s coattails and denounce his core philosophy — simultaneously.

Again, I say, Romney is really bad at this whole “running for president” thing.

It makes me wish the ticket were flipped. I’d much rather see this a Ryan/Romney ticket than Romney/Ryan. At least then I would know what it stood for — even if it was something I don’t myself support.

Until recently, I had been mentally comparing the Romney campaign with the McCain campaign of four years ago. He seemed clueless and flailing. A decent guy (maybe) who had no idea what to do when put on the national stage and whose handlers should have all been fired.

It has come to my attention, however, that maybe Romney is actually John Kerry circa 2004. He a wishy-washy flip flopper with little charisma and no real plan for the future, hoping to energize his campaign with a younger better looking rising star from within in party.

I went with a friend (and former Greater Niagara News employee) David Winters to see John Edwards speak in Rochester in 2004. He was impressive. He was put together. He was enigmatic. He was apparently too good for the Democrats.

ASIDE: As a reminder, I supported Howard Dean in 2004 then dropped the Democratic party because they freaked out over “the scream.” I didn’t want to be associated with a big bunch of losers. So now I’m a registered Libertarian — a much smaller bunch of losers.

Long story short (I know, too late), it’s nice to see someone with principles in the race. Even if they’re principles I disagree with.

Scott Leffler would have rather written about #SharkWeek but then Mitt Romney went and announced a running mate. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler where you can find the Twitter handles for everyone mentioned in this column.

I remember the scream

If you’re sick of news of the run for the White House, I’ve got some really bad news for you: It’s about to get worse.

Today if the first step in the assumed coronation of Mitt Romney as the Republican standard bearer. The latest polls in both Iowa — with their caucus today — and New Hampshire, the next step in the primary process, have Romney in the lead.

After today’s assumed win, followed by the Granite State, Romney is expected to roll over the rest of his GOP counterparts on his way to the nomination.

I can’t help but recall eight years ago when a certain Democrat was expected to roll over competition on his way to his party’s nomination and then defeat George W. Bush in the 2004 general election.

I remember watching caucus returns on CNN or MSNBC or whatever, expecting to see Howard Dean win. I was a huge fan of the Vermont governor and genuinely excited about the future with him at the helm. In truth, he’s one of the few politicians I’ve ever been excited about.

But the returns didn’t come in as Gov. Dean — or I — had hoped. Dean came in third behind Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards. And in an effort to reinvigorate his base, Dean made a speech that would eventually derail his campaign. You may recall it.

“Not only are we going to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we’re going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we’re going to California and Texas and New York ... And we’re going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan, and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yeah!”

That “Yeah!” was broadcast on a loop, remixed, and made into songs, turning Dean into a joke.

What was assumed to be a sure thing turning into a disaster, and Kerry ended up the nominee, with Edwards his running mate. Dean became chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

So just because the pundits are telling you today that it’s a done deal and it’s Romney’s nomination to lose, doesn’t mean he can’t lose it.

His lead in the latest Iowa poll was razor-thin and, while his New Hampshire lead seems insurmountable, there’s no such thing in politics. Just look at who’s polling third in Iowa. Rick Santorum — dead in the water just a couple weeks ago and now running third.

Following New Hampshire are South Carolina and Florida — with Newt Gingrich leading the polls in both. If the former speaker can make a decent showing in Iowa and New Hampshire, his stock could skyrocket.

Of course, Ron Paul could win tonight and turn into the party’s front runner.

This is one of the reasons I love politics. It’s a huge game of chess. And it the match starts in earnest tonight.