Christie bridge controversy exposes a GOP rising star to new scrutiny
By Karen Tumulty and Robert Costa, Published: January 11
The brash qualities that have made Chris Christie one of the fastest-rising stars in politics — and a putative Republican front-runner for the presidency in 2016 — are suddenly looming as the biggest threat to his future prospects.
Is he the pragmatic, bracingly forthright leader seen by his admirers, who include much of the GOP establishment? Or is Christie a petty, unprincipled bully, whose only agenda is his own aggrandizement, as his growing list of adversaries say?
“On the one hand, I think he’s got a lot to offer. I think he’s the most able politician since Bill Clinton,” said former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean (R), a revered figure who was one of Christie’s earliest political mentors but who has since had a falling-out with him.
“On the other hand,” Kean said, “you look at these other qualities and ask, ‘Do you really want that in your president?’ ”
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/christie-bridge-controversy-exposes-a-gop-rising-star-to-new-scrutiny/2014/01/11/f49dee40-7aed-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines
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Bill is still the master of the game, the best retail politician alive. Christie is just a bull in a china shop. His shtick may have been appealing at first to some people who are used to hearing politicians' constantly double talk, but when one scratches the surface of his bluntness one sees Christie's true self: a bully who will demonize and mock anyone who dares to disagree with him.
Regardless of politics, he's not presidential material. I felt the same way about Giuliani, a turd of a man on a personal level that went way beyond his politics.
