Like I said, I couldn’t support Christie in the primary if he had run. He’s anti-gun, pro-amnesty, and just too squishy outside of union-fighting issues. This move would make sense considering his record.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, just one week after definitively announcing he will not run for president in the 2012 race, plans to endorse Mitt Romney for the job Tuesday afternoon, Fox News has learned.

The event is set to take place in Hanover, N.H., the site of the Republican presidential debate being held Tuesday night. The endorsement will be made in advance of the debate.

Why now? The GOP establishment expected Rick Perry to fade quickly following Romney’s hypocritical attacks on Perry’s health care and Social Security record, allow Romney to gain a comfortable lead and become de facto head of the party. With an “Ask me where I stand today” Republican back at the top, all would once again be right with the world. No more of those principled conservatives and their riff-raff.

Except, while Perry did fade, Romney didn’t pull out a big lead. Perry’s previous supporters simply moved to Herman Cain — once again threatening the establishment’s control over the party and election. So they’re lining up quickly behind Romney, hoping to effectively end the contest soon. Expect more establishment Republicans to endorse Romney in coming days. They’re panicking now.