Famous Last Words

"I am not a bully," -- Chris Christie

"I am not a crook." -- Richard M. Nixon

"The buck stops here." -- Harry S. Truman

   In his defense of his administration's behavior in closing access lanes for four days from the New Jersey city of Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River, NJ Gov. Chris Christie said, "Mistakes were made."
   This is not the same as saying, "We made mistakes." Using the passive form implies that somehow, somewhere, mistakes took on a life of their own and overwhelmed a few otherwise well-meaning individuals. Moreover, these independent, malicious "mistake" entities screwed up the work of these innocent, devoted public servants.

   Hah!

   As for not being a bully, CNN went into its video archive and broadcast numerous examples of Gov. Christie -- in public -- insulting, berating, abusing and otherwise yelling at people who dared to disagree with him or criticizing news reporters who had the temerity to ask a question he didn't want to deal with.
   Granted, there are times when being forceful is appropriate and necessary, such as leaning on government agencies to come through with help in cleaning up storm damage, as Christie did when Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore. But publicly berating people while cameras are running will come back to bite.

   As for the Christie aides who shut down access to the bridge from Fort Lee to Manhattan, there is clear evidence that this was done as punishment for the mayor, a Democrat, who declined to endorse Christie, a Republican, during the re-election campaign.
   And this is doubly sad because it was not necessary, since anyone with the smallest knowledge of New Jersey politics knew that Christie would win re-election in a walk. But it's part of a pattern of bullying tactics that the Christie team has used to punish any who refused to get with the program and be part of the team.