Even though cable news shows and political pundits swoon all over NJ Gov. Chris Christie, Dean Baker is exactly right: Christie displays "follow-ship", not leadership. He is completely a creature of the Republican establishment. Yet he likes to paint himself as a regular guy and even an outsider.

"Outsider"? Don't make me laugh. At yesterday's speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Christie said he'd never been to Trenton until he was elected governor. (As the nuns would say, "That was a bold, brazen lie!")

Married to an investment banker, he worked as a securities lawyer and then as a statehouse lobbyist representing the Securities Industry Association, Wall Street's trade association.

Appointed as a U.S. Attorney with no prosecutorial experience, his appointment was approved by Karl Rove because Christie, his stockbroker brother Todd and their wives donated a half-million dollars to Bush's campaign. Todd also spread some cash compost around the Republican Governor's Association, which used to money to run ads supporting Christie's gubernatorial race.

Oh yeah. About Todd: He was one of 20 specialist stock traders charged with civil fraud for cheating customers. Funny thing, though: 14 of those traders were also charged criminally, many for lesser infractions than Todd Christie. But we can rest easy, since Gov. Christie assures us his brother got no special treatment -- even though he awarded a lucrative, no-bid state contract to the federal attorney who investigated his brother after his brother was cleared. Christie insists there was no connection, and I'm sure he wouldn't lie, right?

You got a problem with that?