That's certainly been the preferred Beltlway press storyline about the Republican, first-term governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie: "People" are responding to the conservative's “plain talk” and fueling his "astonishing" political “ascent.” (He might run for president!)

Christie has been showered with glowing, feel-good press coverage over the last year as pundits and reporters have gone out their way to stress that voters are the ones driving the bandwagon. (Not them.)

The problem is that polling has never really supported the “people” claim. At home, Christie enjoys roughly the same approval rating that Obama does nationally; a rating the press does not toast when it's attached to the president. And according to one survey this year, if Christie faced Obama in 2012, the Republican would lose his home state by nearly 20 points.

Yet the press has stubbornly persisted with its preferred Christie narrative: He's a rising star in Americans politics!

Now a new Gallup poll suggests most “people” don't even know who Christie is. And of those who do, only a small plurality view him favorably.

If members of the media want to cheerlead for Christie, that's their right. Just don't hide behind the “people” in the process.