Chris Christie's Bridge to Nowhere

Governor of New Jersey at a town hall in Hillsborough, NJ 3/2/11 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Having just won a second term as New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie has become enough of a national figure to go on TV talk shows to discuss politics and how he's managing his weight in this obesity-obsessed culture.  Christie has often been mentioned as the Republican front-runner for the White House in 2016, something he hasn't discouraged nor made a move on.

Now Christie's political future is up in the air.  He stands accused of throwing his weight around (sorry) on his political opponents in a manner that reminds some people of Richard Nixon.  It also means the governor is no different than the rest of the Republican Party.

First, Christie allegedly had something to do with a three-day traffic jam last September on the George Washington Bridge, which crosses the New Jersey state line into New York City.  Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, claims it was payback for refusing to support Christie's re-election.  Since then, an aide to the Governor has been fired, and his appointed representative on the Port Authority has resigned.

Second, Dawn Zimmer, who is the Democratic mayor of Hoboken, alleges that her city was denied funds to clean up damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.  She said she refused to support a politically-motivated real estate deal.

Governor Christie has so far responded to this crisis in his leadership the way most other politicians would.  His attempts at damage control consisted of a long, rambling news conference and  a second inaugural speech, in which he basically avoided any mention of the controversy.

If Christie's legal troubles escalate into something more serious, his chances of getting the GOP nomination for President in 2016 are not good.  In that case, the GOP would end up putting some unelectable Tea Party conservative against Democrat Hillary Clinton.  If she runs, that is.  If she doesn't, all bets are off.

If you live in New Jersey and you were stuck in a traffic jam headed for New York, or your house was flooded out by Sandy and you voted for Governor Christie, how do you feel about him now?  Would you still support him?  Or is this just politics as usual?