I don't think Christie has enough broad support in the GOP to get the nomination, but I can see the stupid GOP money guys thinking he is "moderate" and therefore somehow able to get mythical independent voters.
I have to sadly, disagree. He may not have broad support across the GOP, but I think he has broad support among the GOP demographics that "count" for those GOP money guys. I watch a lot of business shows, and the Wall Street guys mostly seem to love him. So it is with a lot of urban Republican's who are essentially RINOs, since they mostly care about fiscal stuff and also don't mind rules and regulations as long as they hurt the other guy.
When we analyze this stuff on APS, we have to remember that we're a small (but growing) segment of the political spectrum. While I would classify the majority of people here as "Republitarians", even the staunchest "mainstream" Republican on this forum is an outlier Tea party wacko to your average Republican (aka RINO). And most of the rest of us are Wookie suit wearing cheetos eaters. While we see "pops" in the MSM about Rand Paul's popularity, in the end it still comes down to, "Yeah, he appeals to those idealists, but guys like Christie are what the R's need to bring in the votes."
If it's not Christie, it'll be someone not unlike him. Though I do predict that Rand Paul will make a good show in the primaries and cause a lot of heartburn to the "GOP mainstream".
