SENATOR GEARY'S PHOTOS WERE LESS DAMAGING:

[I]t was only a few years ago that the tough-talking governor of New Jersey appeared to be the future standard-bearer for conservatives nationally. His bombastic style led Republicans to search out grainy Internet videos of him yelling at people at town halls. He was Trump before people knew they wanted Trump.

But then Christie made a mistake that would haunt him the remainder of his political career. In the wake of a storm that battered the East Coast in 2012, Christie partnered with President Barack Obama in shoveling federal aid to New Jersey. And this episode ended with The Hug That Ended a Career.

In October of 2012, Obama was greeted on a New Jersey airport tarmac by Christie, who extended his hand while Obama put his arm on Christie's shoulder. This was immediately deemed a "hug," as if Christie had engulfed Obama in a passionate fleece tornado.

For Christie, his partnership with Obama ended up being a Faustian bargain. He was re-elected governor of New Jersey in 2013 in a landslide; but his standing with national conservatives -- who were previously bummed out he didn't seek the presidency in 2012 -- was irreparably ruined. (This despite Fox News host Greta Van Susteren analyzing the "hug" video as if it were the Zapruder film, frame-by-frame, before declaring, "That's no hug!")

Nevertheless, Christie now finds himself a footnote in the 2016 presidential race, bumped from the main debate stage Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

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