The scandal surrounding Chris Christie’s administration leaves the New Jersey governor vulnerable if he decides to run for president in the 2016 presidential election. But it certainly doesn't disqualify him. Hardly.
Obviously, if in the future we find out that Christie knew more or was more involved in all of this than what he said at that press conference yesterday, then it becomes far more problematic and damaging for him because it then becomes a trust issue. However, at this point, Christie has taken quick decisive action against the staffer involved and he held a two-hour press conference answering every question under the sun.
What more can you ask? It's refreshing that a politician like Christie will just let it fly unscripted in front of reporters for two hours. He could have done what many politicians do: read a one-minute statement, take no questions and hurry off the podium into seclusion with staffers in his office.
He didn't do that. Why? Because Chris Christie is not like that. Christie is genuine. What you see is what you get. If he ever loses who he is at his core, then he's already lost before even running for president.
While Christie's strength may be his authenticity, it can also lead to his political demise. He's so real and authentic that many times he doesn't hold back when he probably should. He has dressed down voters at town halls numerous times. That's problematic if you're running for president and doing that at a town hall meeting in Pella, Iowa, or Nashua, N.H., in the fall of 2015.
His brashness may equally turn voters off and raise the issue of whether he has the right temperament to be president. You can be sure campaign staffers for the other GOP contenders will be feeding reporters all sorts of Christie tidbits on this angle.
The New Jersey traffic scandal does play into this persona that Christie is a bully. Even if he didn't know what was going on, he sets the tone for his employees and you can make the argument that some of them may have felt they were doing right by Christie.
That raises questions of whether he may had a couple bad hires or if the problem goes deeper than that. Is his type of conduct encouraged or allowed to go on due to the mindset of their leader. These are legitimate questions to be raised.
But let's remember this: Christie is a successful governor who would be unlike any other candidate running because he's not about reading for talking points. He's just a guy from Jersey who comes across as a regular guy. He's authentic. He's real. He's Chris Christie. He's refreshing.
The question is whether his authenticity will be his ticket to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or his ticket out of town.