Christie brushes off CPAC snub

>>> new jersey governor chris christie doesn't seem to be losing any sleep over the snub by cpac . he wasn't invited to the --

>> i wish them all the best, they're going to have their conference, they're going to have a bunch of people speaking there, they don't want town vit me, it's their call, it's their divorce, it divorce, -- call. it's not like i'm lacking for invitations to speak here and around the country. i can't sweat the small stuff , i got a state to rebuild.

>> mitt romney will be at cpac and it doesn't appear he's holding a grudge against christy for praising president obama 's response after hurricane sandy. mitt romney donated the limit to chris christie 's re-election campaign. good morning.

>> john, does chris christie need cpac ? did he diffuse the controversy with his comments?

>> c spak the last couple times nominated ron paul to be their standard bearer , so i don't think that cpac is an organization that chris christie needs. i think that chris christie is the most popular republican governor in the country and is tracking spending at the local level and getting the teacher's unions to do a better job of teaching and at the same time he has this remarkable record of rebuilding new jersey after the big hurricane. i think that for someone like cpac , a group like cpac , they need someone with some common sense values that someone like chris christie has.

>> chris christie has an approval rating of 74%. a republican governor in a very blue state . is he the 2016 candidate that maybe democrats would fear most?

>> oh, it's much too early to tell. and for chris christie and for any republican, the key is going to be can they move to the center and can they say no to people like cpac . and chris christie has an advantage that he's not part of the washington politics now and he's able to say what he thinks. when he gets among republican conservatives, can he maintain that candor? that's going to be the test for him.

>> you need to be a little more conservative to get the nomination, and he found himself the subject of some criticism after he praised president obama for his response to hurricane sandy. charles krauthammer says it's time to let chris christie out of the doghouse.

>> chris christie has a -- earn the opportunity to run and win in a primary is ridiculous. receive is exactly right, it's very early in this process. i do think that the fact that cpac did not invite him gives christy much more of an opportunity to say what's on his mind. i think people want a sense of authenticity from their political leaders, someone with a track record that's actually gotten stuff done and christie has done this long before the republican primaries begin.

>> a comment over the last 24 hours or so that the u.s. should start supplying ammunition to some rebel groups in sere yachlt let me play you just a little clip.

>> i think one of the things we can consider is we can identify a couple of responsible groups or more responsible groups that we feel have built a -- ammunition is something we can provide, which is not weaponry per se , but is essential to the weaponry. and that's a step i'm prepared to advocate for.

>> steve, what do you think? is he a real contender? bobby jindal ? who's looking strong at this point? who do you see positioning themselves for 2016 ?

>> they're all positioning themselves because it's going to be an open seat . but from what i have seen so far, i don't think any of them are going to beat hillary clinton .

>> short and sweet answer. john, what about you?

>> the think that marco rubio has a -- actively engaged in the world. it's a responsible adult world view and i think he would be an excellent contender for the white house and his personal story is so compelling, that i think that voter also really like him.

>> we often talk about how hillary clinton , getting into the rice would change it on the democratic side. but it will be interesting to talk as we go forward about how it will change things on the republican side . thanks,