Anybody who ever watched West Wing, or for that matter served in government in any capacity, knows the term “plausible deniability.” It’s when that trusted inner circle keeps something treacherous, some phone call or email, from ever reaching the ears of the guy (or gal) at the top. That way, when questioned under oath, or maybe attached to a lie detector, the person in charge can always save face and tell the truth. “Who me, I didn’t know a thing!”
While listening to Gov Chris Christie’s almost two hour mea culpa tinged with his apparent ignorance of the facts, that term kept coming to mind. Really Gov, back in September when this bottleneck happened at the GWBridge, it never occurred to you? You don’t know what a “traffic study” looks like, I get that, kinda. I also get the wink and a nod politics of plausible deniability. This is now a “he said, she said” affair, and I can’t wait to see who gets the first interview with Bridget Ann Kelly, his Chief Deputy. Anderson, are you listening?
And I guess just because I happen to be a Jersey girl living in VA, I’m not the only one who compared Christie with Gov Bob McDonnell. Terry McAuliffe, Democrat, will be sworn in today in the pouring rain, while Republican McDonnell leaves him with a house divided, still believing he did nothing wrong in accepting extraordinary gifts from a donor:
“I am not perfect, but I have always worked tirelessly to do my very best for Virginia,” McDonnell told the state legislature Wednesday in a farewell address. “As a flawed human being, I’ve sometimes fallen short of my own expectations.”
Christie may have said he felt sad and betrayed, he may have invoked the stages of grief to elicit our pity, but it’s the people of NJ and VA who should be feeling pretty betrayed about now. Betrayal of the public’s trust is grounds for impeachment, and pleading your supposed ignorance will not help your cause. Any good lawyer who ever watched West Wing knows that! And for your viewing pleasure, next week’s New Yorker cover.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
