With the primaries only months away, an undisputed front-runner has yet to arise among the Republican presidential hopefuls who are seeking to replace Barack Obama in the White House.
A number of prominent candidates -- including Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- have had moments in the sun, when they seemed to have gained an advantage over the others.
Most recently, well-liked Georgia businessman Herman Cain surprised many political observers. Though he had been coming in behind the other major candidates in opinion surveys, he won a straw poll in Florida, with Perry and Romney finishing a rather distant second and third, respectively.
And in debate after debate, articulate former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has shown his ability to frame an argument clearly and powerfully -- even as he has failed to get a lot of traction in opinion polls.
In short, no one in the GOP field is clearly ahead in the quest to challenge Obama, whose overwhelmingly bad performance in office makes it crucial for our nation that he be voted out in 2012.
And now, still more uncertainty is being added on the Republican side.
Popular, plainspoken and fiscally conservative New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has previously stated in definitive terms that he does not intend to run for president. But more recently, he seems to have left the door ever so slightly open to a presidential run. And some of his friends and associates suggest that he is seriously considering seeking the White House.
There is, in fact, a fairly strong movement -- both at the grassroots level and among prominent Republicans -- to encourage Christie to throw his hat in the ring.
Christie gained attention well beyond his home state of New Jersey for a candid speech in which he correctly pointed out that our country faces catastrophe if we do not reform the entitlement programs that are consuming ever-larger portions of the budget.
He has also taken difficult, painful steps to rein in his heavily indebted state's out-of-control spending -- including unreasonable spending on benefits for government workers.
Considering the Obama administration's breakneck spending patterns, a real budget cutter in the White House would be refreshing.
Still, we don't yet know a lot about Christie's positions on other issues. Would he leap to the fore of the GOP candidates if he should enter the race -- only to fall back as he becomes better known? That's uncertain.
What is certain is that our nation needs a principled, conservative candidate to challenge -- and defeat -- Barack Obama.