A Christie convert

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has made a habit of talking about drug addiction on the presidential campaign trail. A video of Christie repeating anecdotes emphasizing treatment over jail time went viral nearly two weeks ago, but it's still grabbing the attention of new supporters.

Many Republican presidential candidates pay lip service to winning over Democrats on the campaign trail, but the Christie campaign caught one on camera in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"I'm actually involved in the College Democrats, but I'm here to thank you ... for talking about drug addiction and treatment," a Kirkwood Community College student told Christie at a town hall. "I watched your six-minute video on Joe Scarborough. That hit me. That hit me really deep. Both my parents are recovering addicts. That hit me quite deeply and I wanted to thank you for talking about the issue, I think it's something that nobody talks about and we need to talk about. Just hearing it from you, I don't know if I'm going to become a Republican but it's very, very nice to hear and it makes things seem more hopeful."

Christie told the student he did not need to become a Republican, but insisted that next year the student should "go in the voting booth, just find where my spot is, close your eyes, I promise it won't hurt." The governor expressed his intention to use the issue to continue to build support.

"It could happen to any of us," Christie told the crowd. "You coming here today is another example of the fact that this is one of those things that could really, we look for issues that can unify our country. We look for issues where we don't have fundamental disagreements, right? ... When you get a positive write-up from the National Review on the same issue that you get 20 minutes of positive coverage from Rachel Maddow; this is either a uniting issue or we are facing the apocalypse. One or the other. I'm hoping it's the former, but it's one or the other."

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