CNN Can Come Alive With Chris Christie

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I'm on record with the prediction. I even came up with the pitch New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will use when he runs for President in 2016:

Four years ago the President and I put aside politics during one of the most important elections of our time. We united and did what was right for America. If you elect me President of the United States, that's exactly what I'll do for the next four years.

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If Time Warner (TWX)-owned CNN is smart it will rally behind not just the man and potential candidate, but the notion of Chris Christie.

The guy appeals to most Americans, Democrat or Republican. He's overweight. He says what he thinks. He's doesn't come off as elitist, but he's hardly stupid. He loves Springsteen, but he can fall back on calling himself a Republican.

Christie looks like a diehard union card-carrying plumber, but he's pretty conservative.

And, out of what was probably genuine sadness and concern for his state -- in the interest of doing his job well -- Christie put politics aside and, whether he wanted to or not, helped Barack Obama whip Mitt Romney in the election.

CNN's ratings stink. Today, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, speaking at a Business Insider conference provided some lame rationale for why ratings don't really matter to CNN.

Lame rationale, but brilliant move. Bewkes has a way with words. He belongs in the pantheon of top CEOs that includes Jobs, Bezos and Schultz.

There's nothing better than the occasional punkslaps Bewkes throws at Netflix (NFLX) and its CEO, Reed Hastings. He owns, in the slang sense, Netflix. Netflix is Bewkes' ... what do they say on the streets of urban America?

Bewkes threw out the line about ratings not mattering much at CNN to take pressure off of the network's new president, former Comcast (CMCSA)/General Electric (GE)-owned NBCUniversal CEO, Jeff Zucker. Give the guy and his beaten-down staff some breathing room.

I was looking at television ratings a couple weeks ago. Both News Corp's (NWSA) Fox News and MSNBC absolutely crush CNN. It's embarrassing. However, what's worse is how close CNBC comes to CNN in some dayparts and demographics.

That's not a knock on CNBC. But, bottom line, a network that serves a niche audience, relative to CNN, should not even come close ratings-wise.

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