The Star Ledger has an editorial today looking at some of the recent Christie news and what it means for his image:
A high horse is a difficult thing to ride, as Chris Christie is finding out. After building his image as a white knight rescuing New Jersey from the dragon of corruption, Christie is showing some gaps in his armor.
The editorial says that the current loan controversy may well blow over, but they believe that the larger issue for Chris Christie is the politicization of his office and communications with Karl Rove along with the further questions those communications raise:
Of more concern is the disclosure that, while New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, Christie spoke with Karl Rove, political guru to George W. Bush.
Christie says they never discussed legal cases; Rove says they talked about Christie's interest in running for governor. That raises questions about whether Christie took steps toward a campaign while still U.S. Attorney, in possible violation of the Hatch Act.
There's no legitimate reason for Christie -- or any U.S. Attorney -- to have spoken with Rove. While at the White House, Rove bulldozed the wall between the Justice Department and politics, rating U.S. Attorneys for "loyalty" and pushing to fire some who wouldn't mount politically motivated prosecutions. This has given new life to Democrats' claims that Christie unfairly subpoenaed U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) during his 2006 election campaign in a probe that did not result in charges.
The Christie campaign wants people to believe that these were just casual conversations, but the editorial drives home the point that no explanation by Christie serves as a legitimate reason to talk to Karl Rove.
