Chris Christie On 'The Daily Show': Obama Knows How To Be Fair And Not Play Politics When People Need Help [VIDEO]

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Where does Chris Christie stand on President Barack Obama?

Before Hurricane Sandy, the New Jersey governor was less than praiseful of the Commander in Chief, saying he was "“clutching for the light switch of leadership.”

For Christie, it was a familiar tack -- using unabashed, no nonsense statements to describe his disdain for the President's leadership skills and politics.

During Sandy, however, Christie and Obama had not choice but to get along. They showed up together all over New Jersey, working with local leaders and crew to repair the damaged state. During and after their efforts, Christie spoke highly of the president and their cooperative relationship. 

"I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state," Christie said at November news conference. 

For his alliance with the president, and the comments he made about him, Christie was pilloried by his own party, called a self-interested traitor, unconcerned with helping Mitt Romney defeat Barack Obama.

In typical Christie fashion, the governor swung back, paying little heed to how his words were perceived. 

One day ahead of a meeting with the president to discuss further aid for storm ravaged areas of New Jersey, Christie sat down with "Daily Show" host, John Stewart, to discuss the bipartisanship that's placed him into hot water with his own party.

Stewart specifically grilled Christie about why now -- after so many harsh words -- he was commending the president.

"And then right after the storm was over you were like, 'This man is a leader,'" the comedian noted. "Doesn't that tell you something about the game?"

Christie responded: "What it tells me is that people have different skill sets at different times."

Stewart probed further, asking, "So he wasn't a leader until you needed leadership?"

Unfazed, Christie told Stewart that Obama needed a stark opportunity to lead, and that when presented with one, the president stepped up to the plate, and led the American people. 

He also told the Comedy Central host that he wouldn't back down in the future or muzzle himself. 

"I'll be very harsh of people who I think are out of line or stupid," Christie said, adding that the trait makes him honest. "I don't mince words," he added.

Stewart used the topic of leadership to segue to the 2016 election, where he surmised that Christie could be going head-to-head with Hillary Clinton. Christie demurred on the questioned, but Stewart added that Christie would be a workable fit for a party that's starved for leadership at the moment. 

"I think it's really unfair that you look at me and say starved at the same time," Christie joked back at Stewart.