Christie: Which candidate is fit to command a soldier deploying to Iraq?

Making his closing argument in Iowa, Chris Christie asked voters to not pick a candidate based on anger but to consider who would be most fit to command soldiers in wartime.

Speaking at a crowded bar with Gov. Terry Branstad by his side, Christie recalled an encounter Friday with the parents of soldier preparing to deploy to Iraq this spring. The father asked how Christie would act as commander in chief of their son. The mother, Christie said, began to cry.

“When the caucuses start I want you to think about that mother and father,” he said. “I want you to pretend that that mother and father are standing on either side of you when you’re getting ready to mark your ballot.”

During the campaign for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, Christie has regularly touted his experience as New Jersey governor and as a federal prosecutor. But polls show the message has failed to win over many Iowans. In latest Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll Christie had 3 percent support.

During a rally Friday afternoon near Ames, Christie took veiled swipe at front-runner Donald Trump, saying, "We’re not electing an entertainer in chief.”

He urged voters not to let anger at Washington, D.C. — a mood that has fueled outsider candidates such as Trump and Bernie Sanders — dictate their choice.

“This is not a game, and it’s not just an exercise to vent your anger. We’re all angry about Washington, D.C.,” Christie said. “But more than that — much more than that — I’ll be thinking about that mother and father and I hope you will be too.”

Matthew Teubert, an Iowa State University junior studying criminology and sociology, said he plans to caucus for Christie because of his experience as governor and his focus on national security.

“Security is just a national issue with the rise of ISIS or ISIL,” he said. “We need someone who actually knows how to properly attack that kind of problem, not just says they know."

AT THE EVENTS

SETTINGS: Banquet room at Prairie Moon Winery north of Ames and the Wellmans Pub and Rooftop in West Des Moines

CROWDS: About 175 at the winery and about 350 in West Des Moines.

REACTION: The crowd cheered and laughed. The biggest laughs came when Christie joked about a giant poster of his head being waved in the crowd. “Man, the regular head is enough.”

WHAT’S NEXT: Christie is scheduled to hold three events Monday morning but will leave the state for New Hampshire before Iowans cast their caucus ballots Monday evening.