I was shocked when Chris Christie won the governor’s race in New Jersey.  When I saw his acceptance speech, I thought it was nothing special and figured he just rode a wave into office.

I have come to realize that Chris Christie is nobody’s average politician.  Chris Christie is an amazing leader, a statesman, and a courageous governor (something I have rarely seen in my life).  

Chris Christie’s address to the New Jersey legislature giving his plan to balance the budget is one of the most astounding speeches and demonstrations of leadership I have ever seen.  He may not blow you away with the Obama-esque perfectly-pressed pant leg that so impressed David Brooks, but he has the kind of leadership ability and determination that we could only pray God will put into the Oval Office.

I am begging you to watch this.  When have you seen its like?  Christie doesn’t just touch the third rail.  He performs a pommel horse routine on it and then dismounts perfectly.

Here is the text of the speech.

And here is a clip:

One state retiree, 49 years old, paid, over the course of his entire career, a total of $124,000 towards his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life and nearly $500,000 for health care benefits , a total of $3.8 million on a $120,000 investment. Is that fair?

A retired teacher paid $62,000 towards her pension and nothing, yes nothing, for full family medical, dental and vision coverage over her entire career. What will we pay her? $1.4 million in pension benefits and another $215,000 in health care benefit premiums over her lifetime. Is it “fair” for all of us and our children to have to pay for this excess?

The total unfunded pension and medical benefit costs are $90 billion. We would have to pay $7 billion per year to make them current. We don’t have that money , you know it and I know it. What has been done to our citizens by offering a pension system we cannot afford and health benefits that are 41 percent more expensive than the average Fortune 500 company’s costs is the truly unfair part of this equation.