Christie: 'Now Is Not My Time'

Saying that "Now is not my time," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

Standing at a podium in the Statehouse in Trenton, Christie said he believed he owed it to the people of New Jersey to continue as governor. "It's never felt right... to me in my gut to leave here when the job is not finished," he said.

But Christie did not rule out a run for the presidency in the future, telling NBC News anchor Brian Williams that "I'm not going to preclude any job whether president or working at NBC."

The governor had repeatedly said he would not join the GOP campaign, but reports continued to surface in recent weeks that he was re-considering, under pressure from numerous Republican leaders unhappy with the current list of candidates.

Christie said his wife and four children had been supportive in a possible campaign. "Mary Pat woke me up a few days ago at 6 o'clock in the morning and told me, 'If you want to go for it, go for it,'" he said.

The governor didn't resist an opportunity to take a swipe at President Obama, saying the president had "failed the leadership test." But he said it was too early for him to make any endorsement of any of the current GOP contenders.

The pressure has intensified in recent days for the governor to make a decision after both Florida and South Carolina moved up the dates for their party primary to January, leaving only three months of campaigning before the actual selection of delegates begins.

At the  in Caldwell, patrons shared their reactions to the governor's announcement.

“He’s not finished with New Jersey,” said Hank Nagelhout of Ringwood, who was glad to hear Christie was not running. Nagelhout said he voted for the governor and is “75% satisfied” with his job so far. 

Although a supporter of the governor, Nagelhout also said he doesn’t think Christie is quite ready. “He doesn’t have enough experience on a national level to run.”

Jeff Lenik, a student at Montclair State University, came to the Cloverleaf Tuesday on his day off.

Lenik said after all the speculation he had a feeling Christie might say, “You know what, I’m going to do it.”

The graduate student added, “I didn’t vote for him, but I really think he’s a good candidate for president. I think he would be good for the Republican party.”

Outside the South Orange Public Library, Kara Levy said she feels that New Jersey will benefit from the governor's decision. "We have had a lot of change in this state, what with the economy's ups and downs," she said. "We need stability and focus."

Christie's announcement comes the same day as a new poll shows him in fourth place nationally in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, business executive Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.