As Chris Christie's moment at the microphone neared, delegates to the Republican National Convention were atwitter at the chance to hear the New Jersey governor speak. After all, who knew what might happen? "He doesn't seem to have a filter," said David Shimkin, a delegate from New York.

But the famously freewheeling Christie does in fact have filters: He's using a teleprompter, and he's reading from a speech that has been vetted and approved.