The rumor is that street-smart Christie was being seriously considered by the Romney campaign for the VP slot, especially for his street-fighting skills, but that the vetting process turned up some red flags that caused them to go with squeaky-clean Ryan instead. The nature of these potential problems was never revealed, but knowing what we know now about the New Jersey politician, its no surprise.

A furious Christie, not one to put up with disrespect or disappointment easily ("he don't put up wid shit from nobody"), retaliated by a less than pro-Romney speech at the Tampa GOP convention, and later spit in the eye of the whole Party by embracing Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The man has a reputation for not just getting even, but getting ahead.

I hesitate to indulge in conspiracy theorizing, but when it comes to internal Republican catfights, its hard to resist the temptation.