"A person close to me betrayed me."

I caught the big guy's press conference today. He looked so contrite and full of feelings of compunction that I wanted to just give him a hug.


"I was disturbed by the tone and behavior and attitude of callous indifference that was displayed in the e-mails by my former campaign manager, Bill Stepien. And reading that, it made me lose my confidence in Bill's judgment. And you cannot have someone at the top of your political operation who you do not have confidence in....


"I was blindsided yesterday morning.. . . I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or its execution, and I am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here, regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover. This was handled in a callous and indifferent way, and it is not the way this administration has conducted itself over the last four years and not the way it will conduct itself over the next four."


"Blindsided". Hmmm, so what were you thinking when Bill Baroni, your powerful political appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey resigned?   Or, for that matter, when you were getting question after question ( nine times) about the lane closures on the bridge--- and the reason for it---. Why didn't you talk to your staff, then? Traffic studies?!


Oh well, this is politics in New Jersey, and us hardened and jaded voters on the East Coast understand it. But how will it play out in Middle America?  This is what the governor must be asking himself as he tries to gear up for a run become our president in 2016.


Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are beside themselves with glee these days. They are hoping that Bridgegate will go on until folks start focusing on the presidential race. If you are a moderate republican this cannot be good. You want this guy to get out of this unscathed because you don't want the loons "on the fringes" of the party to take over.


Personally, I am giving the big guy the benefit of the doubt. Just like wingnuts did with the president when he said that he was not aware of any politics when it comes to the IRS and how they chose to audit organizations. OK, that was a joke. Hypocrisy-- as is always the case with politics here in America-- will rule the day.


“Is it wrong that I’m smiling?” one Chris Christie staffer asked another after closing a major bridge to a punish town whose Mayor didn’t endorse the New Jersey Governor’s reelection bid. “No,” the other aide wrote back. This is what passes for a “traffic study” in the Christie administration, apparently.
If the aides’ discussion strikes you as a horrifying way to talk about a decision that hurts thousands of people, you’re not alone: that’s one of the reasons this scandal seems to be so devastating for Chris Christie’s political future. It plays into the House of Cards stereotype about politicians and political operatives, that they care about power above all else, including the welfare of their constituents.

As it turns out, this stereotype has some basis in fact. According to solid psychological research and theory, politicians often end up possessing qualities common in sociopaths — or simply are sociopaths themselves. And while it’s not possible to identify the psychology behind the actions of Christie or his staff, the sheer callousness of their rhetoric presents a good opportunity to examine whether political leaders and operatives more broadly have an empathy problem. The answer appears to be yes." [Source]


I am just glad I am not Bridget Kelly tonight.


Although, now that I think about it; she will be just fine.