steve schmidt was the senior strategist at john mccain's 2008 presidential campaign. and john heilemann writes for "new york" magazine. gentleman, let me just go to you. steve, you're the republican here. heilemann, you cover this party as well as the other party. chris christie, my hunch, my premise tonight. i think he's got something. it's irritability. it's like, don't mess with me. you take a shot at me, i'll shoot back at you. it's the angry guy or woman in traffic. life is congested today. we're angry. he's got that sense. >> he's real. he's tough, he says what he thinks. and i think the american people, who as you accurately pointed out, they're in a very bad mood. they think the country's going in the wrong direction. and they look at washington and they see a giant weasel pack. you know, in the senate, the house, politicians of both parties. he's someone who has approached the problems of his state with utter fearlessness, unafraid to take a position. and i think that people...