CHRISTIE LOOMS LARGE OVER OBAMA

DATELINE: Stupidville, Jan 9 – New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, finds himself in the cross-fire today for an incident that occurred last September. Back then, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey closed three lanes of the George Washington Bridge for four days. The reason given was a traffic study. The Bridge is one of the most traveled in the Country. It connects New York City with New Jersey and carries an average of 300,000 vehicles each day. The lane closures caused major gridlock and significant delays for all transport modes including emergency services vehicles.

Not that gridlock is a headline-getter on the East Coast. Christie’s very large problem stems from the fact that the lane closures were apparently politically motivated. In emails revealed yesterday, members of his staff decided that turning the Bridge into a parking lot was the perfect revenge against a political opponent. The adversary, the mayor of Fort Lee, the town on the New Jersey side of the Bridge, refused to endorse Christie in the last election. Several emergencies that occurred during the closure could not be properly handled, resulting in at least one death.

Avoiding one of the classic stupidmarks of politics, i.e., making a bad situation worse with a cover-up, Christie took the mic today in his typical fashion. In no uncertain terms, the Governor apologized repeatedly. He named the members of his staff who were responsible. He canned his deputy chief of staff who was instrumental in orchestrating the politically-motivated closures. His top political advisor was likewise out. Christie, while disclaiming knowledge of the political motivations, chastised the closures in the strongest terms. His next stop after leaving the press conference was in Fort Lee to apologize personally to Mr. Mayor.

In listening to Christie’s straight-talk style, one thing, in particular, comes to mind. The Governor is a very different animal than our current President. Christie is a no-nonsense take-charge leader with a clear sense of the correct thing to do and then actually doing it. In stark contrast, Barack Obama is MIA when it comes to management. He’s the champ of trite platitudes and a tireless foot dragger when action is required. As for firing people, not in our lifetime. Kathleen Sebeliusand Eric Holder, who both should have long since been fired for rank incompetence, remain safely ensconced in their seats of power. The feckless Susan Rice received a huge promotion after her Sunday talk show tour de farce the weekend following the Benghazi tragedy.

In the end, this sorry episode in New Jersey’s political history will swing to Christie’s advantage on the national stage. His handling of a difficult situation compared with Obama’s absentee style only makes the Governor loom even larger over our weak Commander-in-Chief. Christie won’t be running against Obama in 2016, of course, But, the specter of the current President will hang over his party like a menacing fog in that election year. Hillary can run but it’s doubtful that she can hide from Obama’s performance record. By then, Christie will be a blessed relief to a Country weary of cliches, the blame game, a weakened foreign presence, endless debt and zero accountability.

Republican opponents call the Bridge fiasco Bridge-gate, a Bridge Too Far or Christie’s Traffic Jam. Laugh it up now, people. In a couple of years, you’ll be smiling out of the other side of your mouths.