Is Chris Christie Still a Viable Presidential Candidate?

Politico tries to answer the question in our headline, and comes away with an ambiguous answer:

No smoking gun has emerged in Bridgegate. No one has replaced him as the early Republican front-runner in 2016. A big chunk of the Republican establishment remains dead set against Rand Paul. The person most likely to replace Christie as the establishment favorite, Jeb Bush, has receded to the background after a burst of attention this spring. And in his home state, Christie is working on mending fences with fellow Republicans he has feuded with in the past.

Yet while Christie tries to rekindle the magic around his brash style, some Republicans doubt it can work.

“The thing I think about Christie that’s hard is that his one trick, which used to be adorable and fun — that he would piss off the news media and speak truth to power — now often comes across as bullying and boorish,” said Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, who advised Mitt Romney in 2008.

There’s really only one way to find out: Christie is going to have to run for president. That should end the speculation, right?