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Kablooie

(18,571 posts)
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 12:42 PM Jan 2014

Christie knew his current political aspirations were gone when he spoke yesterday.

Why did he portray himself as a poor, dumb, heartbroken sap who knew nothing and was taken advantage of by everyone below him?
Politically this is a tremendously damaging image to portray but it can be a smart defense against criminal culpability.
He must have decided the threat of prosecution was larger than the threat of losing political power.

If he wanted to stay in the game he would have come out, guns blazing and declare to weed out everyone involved in the scandal, find out exactly why it happened and instate new strict rules that will prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again.
But in a court of law he would be required to reveal everything he has learned from these investigations and that could create a tangle of lies that it would be impossible to escape from.

If it can't be proved in court that he wasn't just a dumb, innocent victim he can't be convicted of anything except being a poor manager.

I'm sure he's not surprised at all the ridicule he's getting today but it's worth it to him if it keeps him from being convicted of a crime.
After all, a political career can be revived in many ways after a cooling off period, but it's nearly impossible to do it from a prison cell.

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okaawhatever

(9,453 posts)
3. Remember, the Romney camp found too many problems with Christie's history to consider him
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 12:51 PM
Jan 2014

for Vice President. And that was prior to any of this mess. He also has the bogus investigation of Menendez one month before the Senate election to deal with. You know the one that mysteriously got him off the to be fired list during the Bush prosecutor purge? There's much more to his past and the bridge issue isn't near the top of the worst, just the thing that will keep the people investigating and the republicans from keeping him protected.

okaawhatever

(9,453 posts)
5. Yes, but I'm also pretty sure the gop has gone to great lengths to get rid of all the evidence they
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 12:59 PM
Jan 2014

found during the Romney vetting process. The question will be how much can still be proved? Just like the wait before he commented on the emails. There's no doubt in my mind that time was spent researching to find out what was out there to incriminate him. He didn't come out with the story until he knew what the opposition would find.

Auntie Bush

(17,528 posts)
8. That's a likely possibility...probably the best.
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 01:30 PM
Jan 2014

Paul Ryan must be grinning from ear to ear. Maybe the ReThugs will put up a Ryan/Bush ticket. I'd kind of fear that.

okaawhatever

(9,453 posts)
10. I think they're still considering Rubio for the VP. They need both the Latino vote and Florida. The
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 01:54 PM
Jan 2014

way Rubio backed off the immigration deal and the press didn't force the issue with him makes me think the gop leadership still has something in the works with him. I also don't think a Bush would agree to be VP to a newbie like Ryan.

ProSense

(116,464 posts)
9. He knew, and his
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 01:35 PM
Jan 2014

"Why did he portray himself as a poor, dumb, heartbroken sap who knew nothing and was taken advantage of by everyone below him? "

...press conference was a desperate con job.

Christie: Vindictive ass or incompetent buffoon
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/09/1268391/-Christie-Vindictive-ass-or-incompetent-buffoon

D23MIURG23

(2,833 posts)
11. You are treating criminal charges as though they are a separate issue.
Fri Jan 10, 2014, 02:00 PM
Jan 2014

If Christie has any chance at winning the presidency in 2016 he has to avoid becoming "the disgraced former governor" of New Jersey first. People have a tendency to forget political scandals, but Christie won't be able to downplay the significance of this one if it leads to his resignation or otherwise being kicked out of office, and criminal charges against him would likely force that sort of outcome. So avoiding charges is his first priority, avoiding being thrown out of office is his second, and avoiding being portrayed as an incompetent buffoon is a distant 3rd.

If Christie manages to avoid serious consequences from this scandal then he can worry about rehabilitating his image, and his future aspirations. IMO you are right that he is taking this seriously enough to be worried about charges, but I'm not sure that his willingness to portray himself as an idiot means he has given up on running for president. I guess we might see depending on how this plays out. It will probably be a moot point though, because I doubt his buffoon act is going to work.

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