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Chris Christie on Principles & Values |
How do we know it has begun? Just look around you. In the last two years, we have come together to address the mess that was our budget. The decline, deficits, and departures that plagued our State just two years ago have been reversed. The budget is balanced. Our unemployment rate is no longer going up, it is coming down. Job growth has been restored--in the private sector, where we want it. New Jersey is back.
We have restrained the growth of property taxes. We have put our pensions on a more stable and sustainable footing. And in doing all this, we have restored confidence and pride in NJ.
For New Jersey, the corner has been turned. Today, the debate is not about who to blame for our failures, it is how to build on our successes. It is no longer about how to deal with devastating decline; it is now about how to push New Jersey even further ahead. To be better than we thought we could be.
A: I am.
Q: When I interviewed Mitt Romney, he made quite a surprising statement. He intended to divorce all matters of his faith from his political life. I figured that he did this because he sees being a Mormon as a potential weakness to the electorate. Do you see that you can do that? Can you divorce being a Catholic with all that means that you stand for as a Catholic and I'm a Catholic, from running for high office?
A: Well, I think you have to understand that we are not a religious democracy. Religion to me is a personal thing. And so, you know, I have to make certain decisions. My decisions are going to be made based on what I think is best for all the people of New Jersey. My Catholicism informs part of who I am. But it does not rule who I am.
Christie said he stayed in more expensive hotels only when cheaper ones weren't available. "We always went for government rates first," he said. "I don't think there were a lot of stays in 5-star hotels."
The travel records date to when he was sworn in as US attorney in 2002. The limits are updated regularly to reflec inflation, seasonal price jumps and other economic realities of business travel. Federal employees who exceed the allowance are required to explain why, though the justification merely requires an extra layer of approval that is routinely granted.