Knowing as I do the deep and abiding love that Hot Air’s readers have for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and the near unanimity of support he enjoys here for a 2016 presidential run, you’ll all join me in these moments of basking in the afterglow.

Gov. Chris Christie granted interviews to all five major news networks Wednesday morning, reveling in the thumping Republican governors gave Democrats on Election Night. As chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Christie helped raise $106 million over the past year and made public appearances with candidates in 26 states, on top of fundraisers and other RGA events in 10 others. Republicans picked up four Democratic-held governorships and held on to key competitive states. “I love that map this morning,” the New Jersey Republican said on Fox News, with a slightly raspy voice. “It looks absolutely fabulous.”

Following some previous bad news – most of which fizzled under scrutiny – Christie was in a place where he could use some good headlines. And while most of the attention was on the Senate races this week, dethroning four Democrats from their governors’ mansions, including in Maryland (!), is going to go on the record as a feather in his cap. It’s hard to deny that he put in the miles, raised the money and helped organize the gubernatorial efforts, and he came away with a win. It’s not a bad intro to a prospective POTUS run, eh?

Of course, now that his star is on the rise he’ll need to soften up his rough and tumble image a little. After all, he has to win over an entire country next year – or at least 50.1% of it – and not just please the palates of Jersey. Matt Lauer asked him about just that.

“[This is] the first time I’ve had you here since you had another run-in with a heckler at an appearance a couple weeks ago,” Lauer said, two minutes into the interview. “It was the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, a guy wouldn’t sit down, and you said ‘Sit down and shut up.’ “That kind of response is something your staunch supporters love; it makes other people queasy,” Lauer continued. “Are you going to have to control that side of your personality to be seen as presidential outside … New Jersey politics?” “First of all, you’re assuming I wasn’t controlled,” replied Christie, to which Lauer gave a head nod of apparent acknowledgement, eyebrows raised. “I sat and took it for awhile,” Christie answered. “The hundreds of people that were there deserved to hear what we had to say that day. That person had had their say. I sat and listened to it. It was time for them to sit down.” “I’m not going to change, Matt,” Christie concluded. “This is who I am.”

People were horrified when Christie told that Democrat to sit down and shut up. And by “people” I mean cable news talking heads, Democrats, and every Republican coalition of players supporting somebody else as the next nominee. But what of the great unwashed masses across the land? For the moment I’ll put aside the trolling and preface this by saying that, sure, a lot of you have zero interest in seeing Christie run for the big chair. But if we take that as a given, how do you think the typical voter reacted when that Sit Down and Shut Up clip was playing in an endless loop?

It feels as if those of us who live in a constant swamp of political news coverage have become so used to the culture of continual fauxrage that some of us have begun to assume that it reflects reality. The truth is that politicians and the media pick apart every word uttered on the political stage and act as if every offending syllable is The Worst Thing Ever. But rank and file Americans who live in the real world are used to running into plenty of people who are a little rough around the edges. And I’d be willing to bet that even before Christie chimed in, there were viewers at home listening to that guy and already yelling Sit Down and Shut Up at their television screens. And when Christie said it, I don’t think people were horrified. I think a lot of them applauded.

So let’s fire up the Chris Christie 2016 tour bus and all get on board! Who’s with me!?!?! (*crickets*)