“I’m not stupid. I see the opportunity. I see it. That’s not the reason to run,” Christie said, adding that a candidate must truly believe that he’s ready to be president, and “I don’t believe that about myself right now.”

We all look at how he handles himself in New Jersey and think he’s ready for anything. However, click through here and watch the embedded video. It’s a moving town hall where Christie helps a woman whose son is dyslexic. His breadth of knowledge about the minutiae of his state is astonishing. I would argue that his knowledge is what gives him the confidence to be bold. No one is going to catch this guy flat-footed. We’ve seen it in marvelous video after video.

If his knowledge is the secret to his power, then I understand when he says he’s not ready to be president. Imagine if he knew the U.S. government to the extent he knows his state. Whoa. And, I believe, if he did run for president in 2012 and we elected him (which we probably would), and then he showed an ineptitude, we would never forgive him.

We need a great candidate in 2012. I think Christie could eat Obama for breakfast on the stump. But we also need a great president in 2012. When Christie says he is not (yet) that man, I trust his judgment.