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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) gave a bravura performance , in case you haven鈥檛 heard. He was the main guest and talked at length about his state, its struggle to recovery from hurricane Sandy, and even his presidential prospects.

He also ate a doughnut. This occurred right at the start, after Mr. Letterman had noted that viewers might never have expected the Garden State governor to show up on the 鈥淟ate Show鈥� couch due to all the Christie weight jokes they鈥檝e told on the program.

Letterman was going on about how he was sorry if he鈥檇 given offense, and how Governor Christie was a regular guy for showing up, when the latter reached into his pocket and pulled out the pastry. It was a real doughnut, too 鈥� sugar-coated and jelly-filled. No carrot muffins for him.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know this was going to take so long,鈥� said Christie, munching away as the audience roared.

Christie then went on to explain that he only cared if Letterman was funny, and that he found, oh, about 40 percent of the Christie weight cracks to be comedic.

He read two of his favorites.

鈥淐elebrity birthday today. Chris Christie turned 50. He blew out the candles on his cake 鈥� and wished for another cake,鈥� said the governor, giggling along.

Then he added, 鈥淎 billion dollars will be spent on potato chips on Super Bowl Sunday. And that鈥檚 just at Governor Christie鈥檚 house.鈥�

So why the magnanimity? After all, Letterman has been pretty brutal on Christie over the years. And Christie鈥檚 got a temper 鈥� look at the way he blasted his own Republican Party when House Speaker John Boehner held up a vote on aid for hurricane Sandy victims in January.

We鈥檇 say Christie accomplished a number of things with his appearance. First, he defused the weight issue, to some extent. He鈥檚 going to continue to be asked about that as his political career goes forward, and joking about it in front of a national audience can only help his image.

Look 鈥� we know it鈥檚 irrelevant to his performance. It鈥檚 going to continue to be an issue though. That鈥檚 just the way politics is.

Second, he鈥檚 won over Letterman. As the Obama campaign showed, political appearances on late night talk shows can be potent. The questions are easy, and the audience is huge. (Remember Obama 鈥渟low jamming鈥� the news with Jimmy Fallon?)

This doesn鈥檛 mean 鈥淟ate Night鈥� won鈥檛 still poke fun at Christie鈥檚 size. But you can bet it will be in a genial context. Letterman all but endorsed Christie in his 2013 reelection bid last night.

鈥淚 love you being governor of New Jersey,鈥� said Letterman.

Third, and most immediately, he鈥檚 got a burst of good publicity for his gubernatorial campaign, while spreading the word that New Jersey still has problems in its recovery from hurricane Sandy and needs continued aid and effort from folks outside the state.

鈥淲e still have 42,000 families tonight who are homeless,鈥� said New Jersey鈥檚 chief executive.

Will he run for president in 2016? Letterman asked, and Christie, as he always does, made clear that he might, depending on what US politics looks like in a few years. Given his performance on the show, he certainly continues to look like a viable candidate.

But the last point we鈥檒l make is that the Letterman appearance also highlights the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a Christie White House bid. That鈥檚 the national Republican Party. Christie鈥檚 a Northeastern moderate, and he doesn鈥檛 hide the fact that he鈥檚 got conflicts with those in the GOP who held up Sandy aid, in part because some in the party are leery of federal disaster spending.

鈥淲hen it happens in their backyard, it needs to be taken care of, but if it's somewhere else it isn鈥檛 as important,鈥� he told Letterman.

And he took a parting shot at Speaker Boehner, by name, for delaying the aid vote. 鈥淚 made my views known to him, and I was less gentle privately than I was publicly,鈥� said Christie.

Christie appears to have made up with Letterman. If he wants to run for president, he鈥檒l have to do the same thing with the current speaker of the House and GOP fiscal conservatives.