CROSSING CHRISTIE - What the bridge scandal says about the Governor’s political style,
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/04/14/140414fa_fact_lizza?mbid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true
On April 1st, Chris Christie, the beleaguered Republican governor of New Jersey, attended a celebrity roast, in Newark, to celebrate the ninetieth birthday of Brendan Byrne, the states governor from 1974 to 1982. Hes an inspiration, Christie told the audience, referring to Byrne, who won reëlection against long odds, because he has shown that political comebacks can actually happen.
Christie sat on a long dais with five former governors and five local comedians, listening to the guitarist John Pizzarelli sing an ode to the state: I may leave for a week or two, but Im always coming back. Christie was seated next to former Governor Thomas Kean, a longtime supporter, but he did not say hello or shake his hand, and he glared at the comedians as they delivered their lines. You scare the shit out of me, Stewie Stone said to Christie during his routine.
Just five months earlier, Christie had won a sweeping reëlection, securing nineteen of New Jerseys twenty-one counties, sixty per cent of the vote, and endorsements from Democratic officeholders. He won fifty-one per cent of the Hispanic vote and twenty-one per cent of the African-American vote. His plan was to shed part of his Jersey persona, and perhaps a few more pounds, and begin in earnest the transition from state politician to Presidential candidate.