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Voters surveyed in the Quinnipiac University poll believed Christie, who said last week he would not seek the Republican nomination for 2012, would have won a race for the White House. But they backed his decision not to run by an eight-to-one margin.The poll found Christie with a 58 percent job approval rating, his best ever, Quinnipiac said. Christie, who this week threw his support behind Republican former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, took office in January 2010.Another poll, by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, also found Christie with his highest job approval rating so far, at 54 percent.Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth Institute, attributed Christie’s poll boost to his flirtation with a presidential bid and his job performance during Hurricane Irene.Those two events overshadowed the more heated state issues of education and property tax reforms, he said.”Those were the issues that were causing women, particularly independent women, to be skeptical about Christie in the past,” Murray said.Women gave Christie a 51 percent approval rating in the Quinnipiac poll, up from 37 percent in August. The Monmouth poll showed women giving Christie a 53 percent approval rating, compared to 45 percent in August.A majority of New Jersey voters said Christie would have won the Republican Party’s presidential nomination and the general election against Democratic President Barack Obama, Quinnipiac found.Three-quarters of those polled said they believed Christie has a political future beyond being governor of New Jersey, it said.”Trenton won’t be the end of the political line for Governor Christie,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.The Quinnipiac land and cellular telephone poll was taken October 5 to October 10 among 1,186 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.The Monmouth poll was taken October 5 to October 9 among 817 adult New Jersey residents, voters and nonvoters, by land and cellular telephone. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

A 12-member “Congressional Liaison Team” inside the Chinese embassy has been meeting with aides to key lawmakers, making phone calls to congressional offices and speaking to the White House on the issue, according to Chinese and U.S. officials.The Chinese embassy has also been paying a blue chip Washington law firm $35,000 a month to lobby Congress on its behalf and to provide China with a greater understanding of congressional politics.The effort reflects how sophisticated China’s lobbying in Washington has become. Just 10 years ago China routinely ignored Congress, with some of its officials believing the Senate and House of Representatives were mere mouthpieces for the executive branch.And Beijing’s rare attempts to influence U.S. politics were clumsy and ill-informed, officials say.Chinese officials have been warning Congress and the White House that passage of the currency bill, which advocates retaliatory tariffs on Chinese exports if the yuan remains artificially low against the dollar, could trigger a damaging trade war.The Senate on Tuesday passed the bill by a 63-35 vote. Its fate in the House of Representatives looks more uncertain.”China’s position on this issue is very clear,” a Chinese embassy official told Reuters. “So congressional staff at the embassy have not only been reaching out to the Congress, but have also been talking to all branches of the U.S. government, including the administration.”The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said embassy staff had been holding meetings on Capitol Hill with key aides, and “I know there have been communications with the White House.” The official did not know which White House officials, or lawmakers, had been approached.”We have been explaining to them our position and hoping they can convince the majority of senators and representatives to take rational steps by not politicizing this issue,” the official said.Orrin Hatch, a Republican senator who voted against the legislation, said it was important to listen to the Chinese.”I think we have to give consideration to people who are leaders in their country. I don’t know how much influence they would have, but they certainly ought to be given consideration. I always do,” Hatch said outside the Senate.He described the Chinese representatives who came to Capitol Hill as “very concerned” about the currency legislation.”I did see some in the hallway, and all they did was encourage me with what I was doing,” he said. Hatch had proposed an amendment requiring the administration to engage in multilateral negotiations with China, but it was not brought to a vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate.President Barack Obama declined to support the legislation last week, but he did accuse China of “gaming the system”.Keeping the yuan artificially low boosts Chinese exports because it makes its products cheaper on world markets.Supporters of the legislation — a coalition of Democrats and Republicans — say a rise in the yuan would make U.S. exports more competitive, creating American jobs. Opponents say a trade war would hurt an already anemic U.S. economy.LOBBYING FIRMChina began to realize the importance of lobbying after being repeatedly outfoxed on Capitol Hill by Taiwan, which had a sophisticated and effective operation to influence legislation.In 2005, the Chinese embassy retained Patton Boggs, one of the top lobbying shops in Washington. The relationship continues with the embassy paying a monthly retainer of $35,000, according to disclosure forms lodged under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.According to the FARA filings, the Chinese embassy paid Patton Boggs $104,090 on May 5, 2011, and $105,000 on May 13 — enough to cover six months’ retainer fees. A Patton Boggs official declined to comment on the firm’s work for the Chinese embassy.”They have built up a very nuanced understanding of how Congress works,” a former U.S. official with extensive experience of dealing with the Chinese told Reuters. “They have much more comprehensive understanding of what role Congress plays in these debates.”The official said that on the currency legislation, Chinese embassy staff “have been engaging with the Hill, and I do know that this is an important issue to the Chinese and they have been putting resources into it.”A congressional aide said in recent years the Chinese lobbying effort has become more sophisticated. They no longer complain about every bill that affects them. “They now realize some of the bills are not going anywhere,” the aide said.These days, the aide said, Chinese diplomats visit Capitol Hill and “they come here and sit down and talk to you, but it’s like any other country.”

Earlier this month, Reuters Money featured a story with advice on how to get on the road to Millionaire Row. But what if you’re in a hurry, like so many multi-tasking teens of the 21st Century? What if your goal is to make that million by the time you turn 21? Can it be done? The answer is yes, if you take the fast lane as an entrepreneur on steroids — something common to the four millionaires we polled for this follow-up. Three made it to the seven-digit milestone by 21; the fourth reached it when he turned 24. Here, those wealthy whiz kids past and present share the secrets that contributed to the fortunes they made.   Jon Koon, 27 Position: Owner and designer of the Private Stock denim line, marketing guru and manufacturer of auto accessories. How he made it: A licensing and fashion marvel, Koon made his first million at 16 as a pioneer in car tuning, where vehicles are modified with special parts to enhance appearance and performance. Top tips for millionaire hopefuls: Get a business plan. Koon saved $5,000 to start his first company, but the business plan helped him get substantial backing. “Investment is always tied to a clear opportunity for profit and that exact stream of profitability needs to be identified from the beginning,” he says. Koon also advises young business hopefuls to stretch. “I always set my goals above the bar and out of reach,” he says. “I believe it’s always better to surpass expectations then just meet expectations.” Now that’s rich: Koon’s unofficial motto is “the world better prepare — Jon Koon, the next billionaire.” He also hands out gold-plated business cards.   Catherine Cook, 21 Position: Cook, who turns 22 this month, co-founded myYearbook.com with Dave Cook, her older brother by 18 months. The virtual meeting place geared towards students has attracted more than 20 million visitors. How she made it: In July, myYearbook merged with Quepasa Corporation, owner of the Latino social network Quepasa.com, in a deal worth $100 million. Top tips for millionaire hopefuls: Find a successful mentor. Cook happens to be the younger sister of myYearbook CEO Geoff Cook, who is 11 years older and started his own web company in college. She learned watching him build Cyberedit.com, a service that edited college admissions essays and resumes. Geoff sold CyberEdit in 2004 to Peterson’s, a division of Thomson Learning, for a multi-million dollar sum. Catherine Cook also stresses that being a teen is actually an advantage for today’s entrepreneurs. “At 17, you’re living off your parents at home, and they’re paying for your meals. When you’re older it’s a lot less likely you will quit a job to follow through on an idea. When you’re young you do an idea and if it fails, so what? There are almost no downsides.” Now that’s rich: Of the 100 myYearbook employees, Catherine Cook has the highest rank and the youngest age. “But when you’re all working on something, you don’t notice it,” she says. “The people there are all very passionate about the site. And the age differences disappear.”   John Magennis Jr., 29 Position: Owner of Magennis Entertainment, LLC. A reality TV show producer and author. How he made it: Working from his bedroom without any startup funds, Magennis launched Internet Exposer, a web design firm, at 14. At first, he charged $15 an hour for website templates. By age 17, he built it into a million-dollar company with Fortune 500 business affiliates as clients, and was nominated for the Ernst & Young’s New England Entrepreneur of the Year award. Magennis has worked in development, casting and producing for ABC, NBC, Bravo, Discovery, Animal Planet, CMT and Lifetime, and as a supervising casting producer for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN. Top tip for millionaire hopefuls: Invest in a passion or hobby. Magennis says it’s easier to enjoy yourself, and avoid disappointment, if you tie business goals to personal passions. “When I started my ?technology company, I had a passion for learning everything I could? about the tech industry and how I could provide a service that would? benefit my clients,” he says. As he tackled skills from programming to budgeting, “I enjoyed each step of the way. The? process of learning was in itself an investment of my time, but it ?never felt like a chore. It was exciting to me.” Now that’s rich: Magennis has a half dozen TV projects in development, including a reality show that sounds a tad autobiographical: “Teen Moguls: Saving America.” J. Christopher Burch, 58 Position: Founder and CEO of J. Christopher Capital and co-chair of the board of directors for Tory Burch LLC, which produces Tory Burch, a women’s apparel line; former board member of Guggenheim Capital. How he made it: As an undergraduate at Ithaca College, he invested $2,000 with his brother Bob to start Eagle’s Eye, a women’s clothing line. Burch made his first million by age 24, and the brothers grew Eagle’s Eye into a business with more than $140 million in sales before they sold it to Swire Pacific Ltd. in 1989. At the time, Burch was 35. Top tips for millionaire hopefuls: Cater to customers first. “Many young entrepreneurs today don’t think about the customer enough,” Burch says. “They think about themselves, and it’s not good. It’s not about how much you sell your business for; it’s how you provide a service or product that’s extra and do it in a unique and amazing way.” Burch adds that if he were starting from scratch today, “I would write a very innovative plan, do a one-minute or two-minute video, and show what the focus of the brand is. Show it in a cool way with cool music and put in on a computer. Then go around with the video, and raise a small amount of money from friends and family, or a small group. Don’t be afraid. It’s actually not that hard.” Now that’s rich: Burch is currently building nine clothing and lifestyle brands, in addition to engineering private equity deals. It’s a long way from the early 1970s, when he received his first-ever shipment of of sweaters from Scotland. “Every single sweater was small enough to fit a monkey,” he recalls. “It was the most depressing day of my life.” He still managed to sell them all.