Nearly 70 percent of Americans say the bridge-closure scandal engulfing Chris Christie has not changed their opinion about the New Jersey governor, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll. In addition, 44 percent of respondents believe he’s telling the truth about his knowledge of the events surrounding the controversy.
And far more Americans view him as a strong leader rather than as a bully.
But then there’s this:
But the survey also shows that the potential 2016 Republican candidate has lost ground to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an early hypothetical presidential match up and now trails her by 13 points.
“The numbers suggest it’s far from politically fatal for him,” he says of the scandal, adding: “This is a developing story, so the extent of the damage down the road is an open proposition.”
But the down side for Christie, according to Miringoff: Americans “are getting to know to him, and that’s maybe not the best way to introduce himself to a national audience.”
Meanwhile, Christie has had to do some fence mending. He has reassured Governors that the situation is under control:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, battling an ongoing political scandal in his home state, has quietly communicated with several of his fellow governors to reassure them that the situation in Trenton is under control and express appreciation for their support, Republicans familiar with the conversations said.
Christie, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, has been communicating with a handful of his gubernatorial colleagues, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the RGA vice chairman, and next-door Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. He has been in touch with Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is scheduled to raise money with Christie at multiple events in Florida this weekend — events that some Florida Republicans briefly considered canceling amid Christie’s struggles. Christie’s advisers, including longtime confidant and Republican National Committee member Bill Palatucci, have reached out to additional prominent Republicans to convey gratitude for positive public comments.
Christie’s position at the RGA is not in jeopardy, according to senior party leaders — for the immediate future it is likely to be a significant asset for Christie as he seeks to maintain his standing as a national figure. The committee’s communications apparatus has already helped handle the media uproar around the affair known as “Bridgegate.” And unless more gravely damaging facts emerge from an investigation in New Jersey, Republicans would be unlikely to break ranks and criticize a man who controls tens of millions of dollars in political spending for the 2014 election.
The bottom line is that Christie is walking a tightrope:
The early interactions between Christie and his colleagues, and their various political advisers, underscore the balancing act Christie faces as he seeks both to tamp down the crisis in New Jersey and preserve his position on the national stage. Aides to half a dozen other prominent Republican governors said Christie and his team have not been in direct contact with their offices, suggesting that the scope of outreach so far has been fairly limited. Even in the absence of an all-hands-on-deck message, Christie has largely received warm support from his gubernatorial colleagues amid the tumult of the past week.
That support has been essential in containing the fallout from an embarrassing scandal in which several of Christie’s aides and appointees allegedly schemed to cause traffic backups in the Northern New Jersey city of Fort Lee. Christie has said he was unaware of any such actions and has pledged to cooperate with an investigation being conducted by the confrontational Democratic state Legislature.
All of this continued support assumes, of course, that a)his poll numbers hold up which indicate he has maintained credibility with many voters, and, b)there are no new major revelations or the emergence of an undisputed “smoking gun” in the case.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.