Chris Christie

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had been looked at as the odds-on-favorite for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 until news surfaced earlier this week the closing of access lanes from Fort Lee, NJ to the George Washington Bridge. The closings appear to be political retribution toward Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. Sokilich, a Democrat, refused to endorse the incumbent Governor during Christie's re-election bid last year.

As a result of Sokolich's non-support, members of Christie's staff decided to make an example of Fort Lee and it's chief executive. Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Anne Kelly sent a message reading, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," to David Wildstein, a Port Authority official at the time. Wildstein responded with, "Got it."

The result was a traffic nightmare for the residents of Fort Lee that lasted four days, including the first day of school. Reports tell of a woman who died in an ambulance stuck in the traffic.

Christie has appeared to be contrite regarding the matter. Yesterday he faced questions about the closing and the aftermath and didn't back down from any of them. People are starting to wonder if this scandal will derail the Governor's chances for the White House in 2016. Liberal reaction to the mess has ranged from thinking the Governor knew to, "If [he] didn't know what his subordinates were doing, it reflected poorly on him."

Other Liberals are having a field day with this. Steve Benen of MSNBC called former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani's defense of Christie "nonsense" and referred to Media Matters' blogger Matt Gertz' response as "Ridiculous".

I believe it's very possible that Christie had no idea of this. How could anyone be aware of everything that is going on. Governor Christie is charged with running the State of New Jersey. Do you think he is able to keep his finger on everything his staff does? I don't. I believe staffers thought they were doing their boss a favor. They are in high places and are able to wield influence. Along with that comes a feeling of invincibility and pomposity. Kelly thought she could get Sokilich to change his mind one way or the other. He didn't and the idea backfired: Kelly has been fired. Wildstein resigned last month.

Christie has a chance to show what type of leader he is. He can fill these personnel gaps with honest people who will work for the state instead of their self-interests and political maneuvers. This will bolster his remarks that he didn't know anything about the bridge's closing. If he did know about this, we will hear of another person leaving the New Jersey statehouse in disgrace.