Other recipients included Sheila Bair, the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairwoman, Jared Cohen, the Google Ideas director, and Ahmed Zewail, a Nobel Prize winner for science
Gov. Chris Christie received a leadership award today from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and The Washington Post, where he was praised as an "unconventional state leader."WASHINGTON — Gov. Chris Christie was in rarefied company today in Washington as he accepted a leadership award from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and The Washington Post.
Christie, who was termed an "unconventional state leader," shared the honor with a Google director, a university president and a Nobel Prize winner. The occasion provided him with a stage to polish his growing national reputation.
"There is no denying his ability to get results," the Post publisher, Katharine Weymouth, said when introducing Christie, noting that his blunt style also helped him to make enemies in Trenton.
Christie chuckled as he took the podium. "Brusque, enemies? Kind of a typical introduction for me," he said.
He said leadership is more important than ever because of the current gridlock in Washington.
"A leader without followers is just a guy out for a walk," he said. "I think you get followers for standing for something."
The awards were followed by a question-and-answer session, and Christie shared the stage with Sheila Blair, the former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, who also received an award.
The conversation covered much familiar ground but also included some candid moments. Christie, who has been governor of New Jersey almost two years, acknowledged his style is an important part of his appeal, saying "it doesn’t hurt to be entertaining every once in awhile."
He also admitted criticism got under his skin early in his term, with unflattering editorials bothering him into the night and sometimes until the next morning.
The moderator steered the conversation into politics, quizzing Christie on President Obama, as well as his support for Mitt Romney, a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
As for Obama, Christie said, "I don’t think he has the first idea on how to use executive power, nor much of an interest in it."
On Sunday, Christie’s recent criticism of the president at a conference of Republican governors in Orlando drew a sharp response from David Axelrod, a leading Obama adviser, who said, "I have watched this president make some very difficult decisions."
When prodded about his own flirtation with the presidency, Christie said politicians should only run for if they feel truly ready. Asked if he may feel ready in the future, Christie joked: "I might have indigestion later. I don’t know what I’ll feel later."
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