Well, this seemed inevitable.

Despite months of full-throated (and convincing) denials, New Jersey governor Chris Christie is now "seriously considering" running for President in 2012, a source close to the governor has told the Star Ledger.

Specifically, the Star Ledger reports that Christie "has been swayed away from his earlier refusals to run by an aggressive draft effort from a cadre of Republicans and donors unhappy with the GOP field."

Given the sudden fall from grace of Rick Perry, the Texas governor who many assumed was a shoo-in for the nomination only a month ago, Christie's change of heart is hardly surprising.

Mainstream Republicans are desperate to find someone, anyone, who can carry the torch for more than a brief month or two of infatuation (Palin, Bachmann, Perry) and who they don't suspect of being a closet liberal (Romney).

And although, by his own repeated admission, Christie is probably not "ready" to run for President, he has been the Last Best Hope for a while now.

Read the article at the Star Ledger >