By Terrence Dopp - Sep 28, 2011 3:40 AM GMT+0700
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will say the U.S. has “failed to live up to our own tradition of exceptionalism,” according to excerpts of a speech to be delivered tonight.
Christie, 49, will speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, as part of a national round of speeches and fundraising for his party’s candidates in New Jersey and other states.
The first-term Republican has denied interest in a 2012 White House run even as party leaders have intensified calls for him to join the race, according to a Republican close to the governor who declined to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak for him.
“Through our own domestic political conduct of late, we have failed to live up to our own tradition of exceptionalism,” Christie plans to say, according to excerpts released by his office. “Our role and ability to affect change has been diminished because of our own problems and our inability to effectively deal with them.”
The speech gives Christie, who has urged Republican presidential candidates to take a harder line on entitlement spending and debt, an opportunity to expand his influence in national politics and shape the race.
Christie defeated incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine in 2009 amid voter dissatisfaction over the state economy and the highest property taxes in the nation. He rose to prominence in national Republican circles after cutting $10 billion in spending in his first budget and requiring public workers to pay more for pensions and health insurance.
To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton at tdopp@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net
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