Looking toward 2016

>>> new jersey governor chris cristy this week is facing scrutiny about his weight after a former white house doctor questioned his health saying he risks heart attack, stroke, and even death. interestingly, he was quick to respond and had harsh words for the doctor that has been wanting to talk about the issue. take a listen.

>> i find it fascinating that a doctor in arizona who has never met me, never examined me, never reviewed my medical history or records, knows nothing about my family history could make a diagnosis from 2400 miles away . she must be a genius. it's completely irresponsible, completely irresponsible. my children saw that and she sat there on tv and said i'm afraid he's going to die in office. my 12-year-old said dad, are you going to die? she should shut up.

>> let's bring in the thursday gaggle. the washington, d.c. editor. a contributor to cnbc's kudlow report. that was more than just a title.

>> i want to start with you. what's interesting about what he has been doing is he decided to go on letterman to confront that letterman likes to have with him, but he changed his tone. now he talks about trying to lose weight . he doesn't do the none of your business. he attacked the doctor for the diagnosis, we said he was struggling.

>> they said that chris cristy is a realist. he is looking to the future and maybe looking at a 2016 run. he has to address the questions. he can claim it is part of superficial politics.

>> that is amazing. if it was six months ago, he would say it's none of your business. stop. who cares? he has changed his tone.

>> we had a lot of male politicians who struggled with their weight such as haley barber. you can see if he was planning to run when he was losing weight . mike huckabee put on the pounds he lost since he is no longer seeking national office.

>> taft is not one of the candidates.

>> taft 2016 . people appreciate the authenticity whether he is screaming on you tube.

>> that is actually -- every successful politician when they get the presidency, they find a way to connect to the average guy and gal. struggling with weight loss is as american as anything.

>> absolutely. you have to prove you are in on the joke. the one thing americans don't need is to be removed and stiff about things. he would make fun of the syntax and vocabulary. that let people know i don't take people too seriously.

>> speaking of 2016 , rubio, was there a more obvious choice? you need a rising star . that was not a white guy.

>> not only was it smart, but leading the charge and doing it in english and spanish. that is recognizing the demographic problem.

>> stylistic. everything they are trying to do is stylistic, but they needed to start somewhere.

>> absolutely. we saw at the convention a lot of faces up on the stage that didn't look like the crowd in the audience. the party is is going to be accused of tokenism as long as it's not reflected in policies. it's a smart choice. he's an extremely skilled politician.

>> four of the last five responders to president obama , president o bama, jindal, donmcdonnell, rubio, paul ryan . sounds like the 2016 caucus.

>> the thing about this generation of republicans, the ones in their 40s, they're not like the generation ahead of them. they're more in touch with minority voters, a lot of them are minorities --

>> well, they're trying to be. you say they're more in touch --

>> stylistically.

>> they have to figure out the votes.

>> they have to figure out the policies to appeal to people. stylistically they're not afraid. paul ryan gave a speech about poverty. when is the last time a republican gave a speech about poverty?

>> however, we did go back. the last time you could find a responder to the state of the union that actually went on to the presidency, bill clinton responded to ronald reagan 's '85 state of