SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Blunt-talking Gov. Chris Christie, who some
Republicans have been trying to persuade to run for president, was
taken to a hospital Thursday after he had difficulty breathing.
The
48-year-old governor was driven to Somerset Medical Center by his state
police security detail out of an "abundance of caution," said Christie
spokesman, Michael Drewniak. Christie suffers from asthma and all
indications are the governor will be OK, Drewniak said.
Maria
Comella, Christie's deputy chief of staff, told The Associated Press
that Christie is "fine and in charge." Close friend and adviser Bill
Palatucci said Christie was "getting tests and working from the
hospital."
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was in her office at the Statehouse.
Christie
attended an education conference and a congressional fundraiser in Iowa
on Monday, where he again told reporters he was not running for
president
The governor, who took office 18 months ago, has long
struggled with his weight, which he said he started putting on after
high school when he stopped playing organized sports.
He's tried dozens of diets over the years with varying success and has shed some pounds in recent months.
His
weight came up during his 2009 campaign against Democrat incumbent Jon
Corzine, who ran an ad accusing Christie of "throwing his weight
around" to get out of traffic citations while he was U.S. attorney.
Christie confronted the ads head on, telling Corzine to "man up and say
I'm fat."
The married father of four was named the state's top
federal law enforcement officer after playing an important role in
President George W. Bush's 2000 campaign in the state.
He soon
gained national exposure by overseeing two major terrorism convictions
and the convictions of dozens of public officials on corruption charges.
In
2007, Corzine was seriously injured in a car accident on the Garden
State Parkway. Corzine's femur bone was broken in two places and he
sustained a broken sternum, six broken ribs on each side, a head
laceration and a minor fracture on a lower vertebrae.
