Chris Christie launches presidential bid

WASHINGTON (CBS News) -- It's official: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is running for president. John Dickerson sat down with him earlier this month in New Hampshire and got a preview of where his campaign might be headed.

In making the case he could be a successful president, Christie pointed to his record in New Jersey as governor and a U.S. attorney.

"For seven years, I was the U.S. attorney in one of the places where there's significant terrorist activity, in New Jersey, in the New York-New Jersey area," he told John Dickerson.

Turning to education, Christie addressed criticism over his perceived "flip-flopping" on the issue of Common Core.

"I thought this was worth giving it a try," Christie told Dickerson. "And we tried it. And it didn't work. And so that is part of what government does too, you know. You engage in certain actions which you are hopeful will work when. And they don't work, you should change course, not stay stubborn because you're afraid of somebody asking you a gotcha question."

Christie also responded to criticism from a voter John Dickerson spoke to at a town hall in Derry, New Hampshire. He said that while he appreciated the Governor's bluntness, he worried about his unpredictability.

"Campaigns are about convincing people. If the election were a week from today, I would be really nervous about that guy. The fact that it's eight months from today, I have got plenty of time to convince him I'm not risky at all if I decide to run."

Christie has a tough fight ahead--he's far from the favorite for many Republicans--a poll this month put him at just 4 percent among GOP primary voters nationwide--but many in his party find Christie's story of reliance very compelling. Here's how conservative talk show radio host Hugh Hewitt put it to host John Dickerson this week:

"[Hillary Clinton] is so tough because she's made herself tough." The republican nominee must be "prepared for the most resilient person they've ever been up against because she's endured so much," Hewitt said.

"That is in fact her greatest attribute. Chris Christie is awfully resilient as well, and I'm looking for that characteristic in our candidates."