The Times also noted that Christie again praised the president in his comments. “President Obama has done nothing to change the policies of the Bush administration in the war on terrorism. And I mean practically nothing,” the paper reports his saying. “And you know why? Cause they work.” None of the other Republican governors were similarly effusive.

It's reminiscent of Christie's comments in response to his joining the president for a tour of New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy last year — only a few days before the presidential election. NJ.com reported what he said at the time:

"I’m aware of all the atmospherics," he said. "I’m not in a coma. But the fact is I don’t care. There will be some folks who will criticize me for complimenting him. Well you know, I speak the truth. That’s what I do. I say what I feel and what I believe. And I’m just doing the same thing with the president of the United States."

At the time, Christie's comments seemed generally baffling. But the answer may be simple: Obama is the president of the United States, and the president of the United States deserves respect. Christie's description of the "strain of libertarianism" — lowercase L — running through both parties as dangerous is hard to read as anything but dismissive. On this issue, as in the aftermath of the storm, the role of the government trumps political opposition.

And, as with his embrace of Obama after the storm, Christie's boundary here opens him to easy critique. The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf provides an easy rebuttal of the "what would you tell the widows" argument; Paul's office, in reminding Christie that fighting terrorism "can and must be done in keeping with our Constitution" (again according to The Times) provides a simple response to the danger of the senator's "strain of libertarianism."

Chris Christie "says what he feels and what he believes." And in the classical Republican tradition, Christie apparently believes in deference to the government's national security efforts. How that plays politically, is, as usual for Christie, secondary.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.