NJ Gov. Chris Christie gets profiled by Matt Bai. (politico.com)

Matt Bai:

Ronald Reagan had his 'welfare queens,' Rudy Giuliani had his criminals and 'squeegee men,' and now Chris Christie has his sprawling and powerful public-sector unions - teachers, cops and firefighters who Christie says are driving up local taxes beyond what the citizenry can afford, while also demanding the kind of lifetime security that most private-sector workers have already lost.

"It may just be that Christie has stumbled onto the public-policy issue of our time, which is how to bring the exploding costs of the public workforce in line with reality. ... Then again, he may simply be the latest in a long line of politicians to give an uneasy public the scapegoat it demands

[h/t Mike Allen]