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I think he's only apologizing because he's considering (at some point) a presidential run.

@pui: Short Version: some of CC's top aides were clearly colluding to create "traffic problems" in Fort Lee, NJ (which has the George Washington Bridge, one of the busiest bridges in the US because of the NJ-NYC commuters) because the Fort Lee major was known to not support CC. The aides have all been fired or resigned.

Long version (with juicy tidbits from subpoened emails): http://www.northjersey.com/news/Timeline_of_events_around_GWB_lane-closure_controversy.html

I absolutely believe he knew everything that was going on, and hypothetically, even if he didn't, if he can't manage his staff now as governor of a state, how would he ever manage to run the oval office? I live in the town next to Fort Lee and what happened was shameful and ridiculous. Jersey City's mayor has been claiming (even before this scandal) that Christie had been snubbing him and his town because he didn't support the governor in his reelection as well. That ultimately begs the question of if this is what happens to politicians who don't support Christie, what happens to the ones who DO? I hope he never becomes president.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Yep, quite.

I think it's possible he didn't know. I certaintly do all kinds of things my boss doesn't know about.

But I think that doesn't matter. If some of his closest staffers feel like this is acceptable politicking, then whether he knew or not, Christie hasn't done a good job hiring and making sure his staff know how to conduct themselves morally. Sounds like a top down problem to me.

@mrbee: I agree. I feel like he didn't totally know but maybe purposely didn't look into it that much.

Now, I don't live in ny/nj anymore, but I feel like traffic on the gwb is always horrible. I guess it was really that much worse? It sounds very callous and petty but not as big of a deal as the media is making it out to be. But I could be missin just how bad it was? In any case those staffers are total idiots for not at least covering their tracks! Jon Stewart had a great take on it.

@pui: I *thought* I read that her family spoke out saying that she would have died anyway? I did not read the article just thought I read the headline. I think I'm probably underestimating in my head just how bad it was though.

@pui: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/us/christie-bridge-scandal-death/index.html?c=us

So it sounds like this specific case it probably didn't make a difference, but it could have so it's pretty much irrelevant whether this specific case was caused by it or not.

@Foodnerd81: traffic jams on those four days lasted approximately four hours, so eight hours total every day. In addition to emergency vehicles, it was the first day of school and reports indicate that many school buses were caught in the gridlock. I had trouble getting around because the traffic overflowed onto all local streets in the area, and it obviously caused the Lincoln tunnel to be a mess, too. Unfortunately, there are only so many ways to get between nj and ny. I also read that the Gwb is the busiest bridge in the country. Whether or not that's true, it's certainly one of them, if not the most. I take the gwb often and I used to take it on a daily basis when I worked in NYC. While traffic is bad generally, it was never remotely close to the gridlock seen during those four days. Traffic study as the reason? Fine, weak but fine as an explanation. Political retribution? Unacceptable.

I think it's fairly irrelevant if he knew it or not- he's still responsible. I suspect staffers frequently are told to "take care of it" and not share details. I completely agree with the sentiment that if his high-up staff thought this was a good idea then it seems he's a leader that creates this kind of culture among his staff. It's appalling- all the talk of his bullying people makes him sound like a mafia boss!

@jedeve: Eh I don't think that is completely fair. We do our best to hire good people for our company, and so far we haven't been burned. If one of them, say, slashed a client's tires we would of course apologize for his actions and fire him immediately. I don't think it would be fair to hold us responsible for something am employee did by himself. I would expect for example that the client would go after our former employee for the damages and to be charged for their crimes, not us.

Of course it's a whole other bag of worms if we told him to slash the tires. Also, I would completely understand that client leaving and never coming back.

I think at best Christie was willfully ignorant, or he's dumb as a brick. He didn't bother to ask why his appointees to the Port Authority were quitting? Or curious about the content of the emails being subpoenaed? Did he just shrug his shoulders and decide he'd wait until he read about it in the paper?

I think he was involved somehow, whether it be an order or just closing his eyes and covering his ears I don't know. But the other option is that he has absolutely no control over his staff, or was completely ignorant, and I don't view Christie as either ignorant nor a push-over....

If he knew ANYTHING about it and didn't stop it, and let that mess continue, then he's just as culpable as the staffers, imo.

I think he absolutely knew about it. I don't think he necessarily ordered them to do that, but I believe he told them to take care of it and this was the outcome. No way such high up staffers would have done something like that if that wasn't the pervasive culture in the workplace.

@travellingbee: I also hate the fact that this took place back in September and he is only issuing an apology now. Way to own it/get in front of the problem!

He had absolute knowledge of what his staff was doing. Political retribution is not a ploy a staffer just comes up with on their own. There is probably no hard evidence to connect him to spelling it out for them, but it is his bullying attitude towards his political opponents that his staff was perpetuating. That being said, he is a good politician and his "directness" is refreshing (even if it is just a page out of the political playbook) but he is unelectable in a general election.

I think he is too brash, too heavy/unhealthy and I think there are major skeletons in the closet which is why the Romney team vetted him and decided to nominate Ryan as VP instead. I think being "direct" is different from being diplomatic. He has no tact, is not an ambassador for anything other than himself and is deeply narcissistic, vengeful and petty and his style is very northeast (similar to Guilanni). He is a good actor, but that only goes so far when you seek a national nomination. i do respect some things he has done and I genuinely believe he wants what is best for NJ, but he has been gunning for higher office the past few years and has shaped much of his public image for that light. He fools people with his "tell-it-like-it-is" routine. He tells you just what he wants you to hear. Politically, his stance on gay marriage and other civil rights was abysmal and I can't see how democrats will overlook his record on women's' issues. I am a democrat and would never vote for Christie under any circumstances.

As a former NJ resident, I don't believe for one second he didn't know. First of all, it's completely in line with his personality. Second, why would an aide stick her neck out to do this if she wasn't going to get credit for it from Christie? If it was intended to be revenge on his behalf, wouldn't she want him to know about it? Regardless, he doesn't look good either way. Either he's obsessed with getting petty revenge, or he's not paying enough attention to what's going on in the state he's supposed to be managing. This traffic jam was a big deal. If he wasn't aware that the bridge was supposed to be closed, why wouldn't he have spent more time looking into it when it happened? It just doesn't add up.

If you're interested in reading more about his vengeful personality, this is a great article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/nyregion/accounts-of-petty-retribution-reinforce-christies-bullying-image.html?hpw&rref=nyregion&_r=0

@MrsSCB: omg, that article! Does not sound like someone you want to work for. Also makes me think even more that he must have known.