(Photo: Kevork Djansezian/GettyImages)

Could 1 pm ET today be D-Day for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie?

Republicans are waiting with baited breath to learn whether Christie will make their dreams come true Tuesday and enter the Republican presidential nominating race. They’ve been after him for months, even though he’s said no in a variety of ways that have ranged from joking that he would “actually have to commit suicide to convince people I’m not running” to the candidly honest “I’m not ready.”

David Bositis, a senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, says all of this fantasizing about Christie is just plain weird.

“In 2008, Democrats weren’t constantly crying that they’ve got to get somebody else besides this Obama guy or that Hillary,” Bositis said. “The GOP has lots of candidates but it’s almost like they’re looking for the messiah.”

That, or they need a political Wizard of Oz who can give each candidate the thing Republican voters think is lacking, Bositis and I mused. But for now they seem to feel that Mitt Romney needs a personality, Rick Perry a brain, and Herman Cain, despite all of his heart, a real chance to win the nomination.

Republicans like Christie because he’s a tough-talking conservative who leaves no doubt about where he stands on an issue, sometimes rudely so. They think they know already know what they’d be getting, but the man they’ll meet on the campaign might just turn out to be more like Bizarro Christie, who must govern in a parallel universe in which it’s sometimes necessary for political leaders to be pragmatic and often compromise.

And, although he’s not yet accepted the GOP faithful’s proposal, Democrats have already sought to alienate their affection for him. On Sunday’s Meet the Press, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick assailed New Jersey’s unemployment rate, which he said is higher than the national average. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Face the Nation added to the list, saying that under Christie’s leadership, the state has had its bond rating downgraded, added no net jobs and the cuts he’s made to education funding have resulted in a decline in its national ranking.

Be careful what you wish for, GOPers! The heart wants what it wants — until it gets it.

(Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Jobs, jobs, jobs is the topic that’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference is offering some interesting forums on efforts to address this gnawing problem.

The Congressional Black Caucus will be front and center Wednesday morning when it hosts its For the People Jobs Commission in the Congressional Visitor Center. The group has assembled an impressive series of panels that will feature experts who’ll talk about programs and policies in place that can aid unemployed workers in their job search, helping them to locate where the jobs are. In fact, economic opportunity and jobs will be the theme of the conference’s national town hall meeting Thursday morning.

During President Obama’s run for office in 2008, young adults shook off their antipathy and helped make history. Once the election was over, however, their fervor died. But a Black family in the White House doesn’t mean that race no longer colors politics. Viral emails of watermelon patches on the White House lawn, doctored chimpanzee photos and birtherism are just a few examples of the persistence of racial animosity. But maybe a forum titled Hip Hop Activism in a Politically Polarized America, hosted by Rep. André Carson, will help get people excited again.

(Photo: AP/Reed Saxon, File)

For a while there, Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) was threatening to lead a march in front of the White House during the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual legislative conference this weekend to protest President Obama’s response to the soaring African-American unemployment rate. He’s since backed down, because of the American Jobs Act that the president introduced last week — or so he says.

It’s more likely that somebody convinced Conyers that putting on such a spectacle was a really bad idea. But, according to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, it would be a very different story under a different administration.

“If [former president] Bill Clinton had been in the White House and failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House,” he said in an interview with McClatchy newspapers.

Imagine the headlines that would fly around the Internet faster than you can press the “return” key if the CBC did lead a public protest: “Black Lawmakers March on Obama!” “Hundreds of African-Americans Protest in Front of the White House!”  “Minorities Think Obama Is Clueless on Jobs and the Economy, Too!”

And the viral videos! Conservative news programs would put them on a constant loop and talk show hosts Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh would be in heaven.

But the CBC is stuck between a rock and a hard place. At least a few members have, on occasion, whispered into Politi-Chick’s ear that they honestly believe the president hasn’t done nearly enough to target Black unemployment and live in fear that he’ll cave on the next big issue during critical negotiations with Republican leaders. Almost three years in, they’re still figuring out how to balance that fine line between criticizing administration policies and not appearing to criticize the man who leads the administration itself.

“This is an unprecedented circumstance where an African-American president who is an iconic, heroic figure enjoys a status with African-Americans that no one since Martin Luther King has enjoyed,” former CBC member Artur Davis told McClatchy.

I’m wondering if Obama, who has a pretty good sense of humor, will use the aborted protest as part of a joke when he addresses the group during Saturday’s gala dinner. If so, will it be a funny moment or plain old awkward?