A thin mint for Chris Christie?

Does this doom Christie's chances for president?

Since there is nothing much going in the world, aside from a catastrophic typhoon in the Philippines or Obamacare's struggles or the latest with Miley Cyrus, we're pretty much stuck with talking about the presidential election that's only three years away.

Of course, why stop there. 2020 is just around the corner.

Time magazine kicked things off well with a cover story on Gov. Chris Christie, after his easy re-election victory in the deep "blue" state of New Jersey, with the provocative title: "The Elephant in the Room."

The silhouette photo of Christie is more evocative of Alfred Hitchcock than it is of a presidential contender.

In most ways, Christie represents the classic conservative: He avoids the bully pulpit on social issues even though he toes the party and loves giving away the farm (public employee pensions) to corporations. 

And, nothing screams GOP like his double-double chin. As Austin Powers once quipped about Fat Bastard: "He's got more chins than a Chinese phone book."

Christie is also brash, crass, rude and arrogant. Those qualities endear him to voters in the Garden State and others in the northeast who share those same attributes.

But, his combative style doesn't seem to play well elsewhere, according to this poll.

One big reason why Christie doesn't poll well outside the northeast is because of his "bromance" with President Obama after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New Jersey just before the 2012 election.

Plus, Christie lauded President Obama's swift federal response to the disaster. Some GOPers believe Christie handed the election to Obama.

In light of the onetime Christie-Obama lovefest, it would be hard for Christie to win any GOP primary in the south where racism is synonymous with the Republican brand.

His "Soprano" style of politics also wouldn't carry the day in the Midwest.

And, there is the question of Christie's health.

Despite having surgery to reduce his rotund shape, Christie still looks like he's one step away from a fatal heart attack. Or, for fans of "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," he could be one thin mint away from exploding like Mr. Creosote.

Christie's weight problem means that his running mate would be more important than Christie himself.

Does he pick a Rand Paul or Ted Cruz and soak up support from the teabaggers?

Would either of those two bring in enough independent voters to close the deal?

It would be odd for a vice presidential candidate be the de facto top of the ticket.

But, that's where we are in 2013, which means we are nowhere near seeing a legitimate Republican contender for the White House.