Is The Pressure On Gov. Christie Tonight in Tampa?

The fate of a political party, and the future for our governor may well rest in his hands tonight in Tampa at the Republican National Convention when Chris Christie takes the podium at the Republican National Convention sometime between 10-11pm.

Listening to him on Ask The Governor this past Thursday night on SoJO, Christie seemed comfortable and ready for this moment that was delayed because of Hurricane Isaac that is now on course for hit the Gulf Coast tonight (away from Tampa).  The Governor has vowed to "be natural" and just be himself when he delivers the RNC keynote address for Mitt Romney.  This will be the biggest moment of Christie's political career this evening.

Jon Schuppe of NBC News explains that the governor's role is to use his "Jersey-guy energy" to fire up Romney supporters while appealing to the segment of independent voters that will likely decide the presidential election.  Currently recent polling from 7 national surveys involving 10,000 likely voters shows the battle for the presidency in a dead heat (both President Obama and Romney are hovering between 46%-47% support).

Governor Christie has been Mitt Romney's strongest surrogate - occasionally outshining the presidential candidate by laying out a more emphatic and persuasive case for Romney’s candidacy then the candidate himself.

Christie's style is known by us in New Jersey, but the rest of the country is about to get more than a YouTube clip of the governor.  The 20-minute speech he gives tonight can set the tone and message of a political party while setting himself up for bigger things in his future.

Chirs Christie always seems to be up for moments in the spotlight - he has shined with his no-nonsense approach for the most part.  Being himself has made him a force in NJ (re-election for Governor), and can make him a force in the years to come (DC aspirations in the future) ....... whether he will sway people to Romney's side will be seen concretely by November.

No matter what side you are politically, Chris Christie will be must-see-TV tonight!