Chris Christie & the GOP field; then Iranian hikers free, but attorney trapped

Hour 1

The roster of potential saviors for the GOP 2012 presidential field thinned by two this week, with the announcements by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin that they would not seek the Republican nomination. While Palin had determinedly left open the possibility of a late announcement, Christie held to a consistent line that he would not leave Trenton before his first term was finished. But repeated pilgrimages to the blunt, brash governor by high-powered Republican donors and party leaders apparently convinced Christie to consider a run as late as last week, until he finally closed the door at a standing-room-only press conference Tuesday. Now that the dust has settled, we’ll discuss what the Christie candidacy intrigue and endgame tells us about New Jersey’s governor, Republican voters and the remaining candidates seeking the party’s nomination. Joining us will be Philadelphia Inquirer politics writer THOMAS FITZGERALD and CARL GOLDEN, former press secretary for New Jersey governors Thomas H. Kean and Christine Todd Whitman and now a senior contributing analyst for the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

Then, we’ll talk with ALEX FATTAL, whose brother Josh was released September 21st along with Shane Bauer after more than two years in an Iranian prison on trumped-up espionage charges. Alex will talk about the reunion with his brother in Oman, the work of families and friends to bring them home, and the new crackdown by Iranian authorities on the attorney who worked to free the U.S. hikers, Massoud Shafii.

Listen to the mp3

Listen:
[audio: 100711_100630.mp3]